Caught Between
by Vegorott
Summary: After being tossed out for the last time, Jack ends up going to the monks and asks them to take him in. He ends up getting very close to Clay, but what does he do when Chase comes back and tells him to come back with him? To be with him instead? Jack is now caught between a cowboy and a warlord. Between good and evil.
1. Thrown Out

And the votes are in! Drum roll, please!

The normal(ish) love story won! With people wanting either the smut with plot or the normal(ish) story in second, all and serious in third and the silly one last. I will most likely either just go with the list of which story to do next or ask again at the end of this story which one will be next.

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"You insolent, worm! You have once again failed the simplest of tasks! How does one drop a Wu and then lose it!? Don't you have some sort of tracking device for them!?" Chase yelled from his throne. Jack stared at his boots and lightly shuffled them against the marble floor, not being able to look up at the warlord. He couldn't handle seeing, yet again, the look of anger and disappointment on Chase's face.

"I...I..."

"You what!?"

"I lost my Wu tracker a while ago." Jack admitted, his voice soft and weak. He flinched when he heard Chase punch the arm of his throne, the hard metal now having a hand shaped dent in it.

"You lost the only thing that made you not completely useless!? You pathetic, incompetent, worthless, fool!" Jack felt himself shrink at each insult.

"I've been working on-"

"Get out of my lair and never return!" Jack stopped himself and finally looked at the warlord, eyes wide. "Zaldi!" A large tiger appeared when his name was called. "Make sure this _thing_ leaves." Jack's heart dropped at how Chase literally spat out the word 'thing'. He was nothing to him now.

Zaldi nodded his head and went over to Jack, ready for resistance. He lowered his shoulders when he saw that Jack had already turned around and was walking away without another word, shocking the warrior a little. Chase let out a scoff and settled down as he watched Jack leave. He didn't need the young man anymore.

Jack knew that the warrior was following him, but he didn't care, he was too busy trying to hold back his sobs and to not sniff. Chase didn't need to hear him crying, he already thought he was pathetic enough as it was. Maybe Jack wasn't fit to be on the side of evil. Maybe he was never meant to be Heylin and he just kept telling himself that he was. He's had that thought before many, many times, but something always brought him back. That's something was, nine out of ten times, Chase. Wanting to impress him or Chase doing anything amazing and making Jack want to be just like that.

The young man grabbed the Monkey Staff as he walked out of the entrance to the lair, knowing that Chase did not care for that Wu, having voiced it countless times before and only stole it from the monks to prove that he could and so that they couldn't use it for good. What Jack was going to do with the Monkey Staff, he had no clue, but it was nice to have at least one Wu with him so he didn't feel completely hopeless. Zaldi sat down as he watched Jack take off, his heli-pack buzzing softly. Jack finally allowed the tears to fall freely as he flew, having no real clue as to where he was headed and was shocked to find himself landing in front of the Xiaolin Temple.

"Jack Spicer! What are you doing here!?" Omi shouted as he and the three other monks rushed out of the temple. "Are you here in an attempt of a quiet attack?"

"Sneak attack." Raimundo corrected with a groan.

"No...I actually don't know why I'm here." Jack answered truthfully.

"What happened to your war-paint?" Omi asked, less tense since Jack didn't look as if he was going to attack anytime soon, the others following suit when they realized that Jack had been crying.

"My war-paint?" Jack put a hand to his face and pulled it away, seeing black on his fingers. His eyeliner must have gotten wet from the tears. "Nothing. It just smeared." Jack looked at the Monkey Staff in his hands before stepping forward and handing it to Kimiko. "Here, Chase stole it from you guys awhile ago."

"Why are you giving it back?" Kimiko asked.

"Um..." What was Jack doing? Did he really want to do this? Maybe since he was such a failure at being evil, he could try being good? "Can...Can I join you guys?" The monks stiffened a little and stared at Jack, did they mishear him?

"What do you mean 'join you guys'?" Raimundo asked.

"Like, be one of you or at least be on the good side or something like that." Jack spoke before he thought. He was really going through with this.

"Why should we trust you?"

"I already gave you the Monkey Staff and I can be helpful, check this out." Jack took an egg-shaped item out of his coat pocket. "it's a very early prototype and it can only go after the Monkey Staff since I still need to install the Wu energy tracker and I lost my Wu tracker I have to make it from scratch all over again." Jack pressed a small button on the machine. The thinner end popped out, showing two little red eyes and arms unfolded from the sides with thin fingers on the ends. The machine buzzed lightly as it floated in front of Jack, waiting for an order. "Her name's Wu-bot."

"Her?" Omi didn't understand what identified that inanimate object as a female.

"She just seems feminine to me." Jack shrugged.

"I see what he's sayin'." Clay said.

"Thank you. Wu-Bot, locate Monkey Staff." The Wu-but took a moment to process the order before flying over to Kimiko, moving so fast that monks didn't see her, and stopped right next to the Monkey Staf. She let out a hum and blinked her eyes at Jack. "See? With some more work, she'll be really useful."

"What's your motive?" Raimundo asked, still not trusting the young genius.

"To not be alone." Jack said, snapping his fingers and looking down. The Wu-bot went back to him and went into his hands, still humming.

"Team meeting." Raimundo turned around and the other monks formed a circle with him. "What do you guys think?" He asked quietly so Jack couldn't hear.

"I think we should let him stay." Kimiko spoke up first.

"I agree with Kimiko." Omi added.

"Fella looks like he's just finished cryin'. Something must've happened to him." Clay pointed out.

"It might have been Chase." Kimiko suggested.

"If Jack's upset with Chase, we might be able to convince him to help fight against him. Obviously not physically, but he's been with that guy the most out of all of us and probably know some secrets." Raimundo said.

"Doesn't it seem kind of selfish to let Jack stay with us so we can use him?" Kimiko asked.

"We're not gonna to use him. If he wants to help, he can, but if he don't, we ain't gonna force him." Clay peeked over his shoulder at Jack, who was now checking on the Wu-bot. "We can easily get him on our side, I don't think he wants to take over the world for the sake of bein evil."

"What do you mean?" Omi asked.

"Thnk about it. His parents are never around, the only 'friends' he's got is a lizard who's grouchier than a groundhog who keeps seein his shadow and an over-aged witch. He just doesn't want to be alone and ignored. If we befriend him and I mean, be actual friends, he'll stay." Clay explained.

"And having Jack Spicer on our side means he won't be on Chase's and he won't have that advantage anymore." Omi said.

"Is having Jack really an advantage?" Raimundo asked.

"If he gets that Wu-bot to work how he wants it too, he will be." Kimiko said. "It, she, is faster than all of us combined and that's with her being only a prototype, imagine what she'll be like complete."

"I vote stay." Omi stated.

"Stay." Clay agreed.

"Stay." Kimiko said.

"Alright, he gets to stay, but we do have to keep a close eye on him till we're sure he's actually serious about what he's saying." Raimundo and the others nodded their heads before facing Jack again.

"I was waiting for a clap and for you guys to yell 'break'." Jack chuckled weakly.

"Football. American football." Clay said before Omi could even ask.

"Are you sure that you want to join us?" Raimundo asked one more time.

"Yes...well, I at least don't want to be on the Heylin side anymore." Jack said.

"Come on in, we'll ask Master Fung." Raimundo gestured with his head and Jack followed the monks in, hopeing that he wouldn't be rejected twice in one day.


	2. Wu-Bot

Jack sat at the edge of the training area, feeling the grass tickle his fingertips as he ran them across the blades. He watched the young monks practice some simple kicks and punches to warm up for the day's training. Master Fung stood next to him, calling out corrections to his students every now and then. Dojo was between the two, watching the gang as well and occasionally glancing over at Jack, still unsure of the supposed 'ex'-evil boy genius' true intention. The dragon wouldn't question it out loud or at least with Master Fung around since he agreed to let Jack stay at the Temple.

It's been a few weeks since Jack showed up with the Monkey Staff and he was struggling to settle down. Every time one of the monks talked to him suddenly, he'd jump and prepare himself to be attacked. He gets along with Kimiko very well and no longer jumps away from her if he knows that it's her talking to him and spent most of the time that he wasn't working on his machines talking and hanging out with her. Omi tries to be friends with him with as much eagerness as you would expect, but Jack had a hard time being properly nice to him and sometimes slipped into old habits that he'd apologize for. Raimundo was still a little suspicious but was now starting to believe Jack when he said that he was done being Heylin. Jack and Clay talked more than Jack did with the other male monks and was getting a little closer to the cowboy every day.

"He's gonna trip." Jack said, seeing that Raimundo was getting a little cocky and was going to over kick his target and sure enough, the dragon of wind fell over when he kicked.

"Great observation." Master Fung said, shocking Jack a little.

"Th-Thanks." He stuttered out.

"You don't get praised much, do you?" Dojo asked, catching Jack's embarrassment.

"Not really. I usually get called an idiot or pathetic or a fool, even when I finally do something right." Jack admitted.

"I assure you, I do not insult my students if they make a mistake, I may joke on occasion with them." Master Fung said after informing Raimundo what he did wrong. "They get corrected and instructed to repeat their action and then praised if done correctly, but if they fail again, I simply correct them again and repeat until they get it right.

"Sounds a lot better than being constantly called 'worm'." Jack muttered.

"The closest thing to a worm you're going to get around here are the ones in the ground or me if I get dirty." Dojo chuckled. Jack laughed at the joke as well, maybe he should have joined the monks a lot sooner. They were all really nice here, although he shouldn't be shocked by that, they were the good guys after all. The insults from before were just them trying to do their jobs and have a little fun as well. Jack's insulted all of them too, so everything's all even with that and him completing the Wu-bot would help make up for them letting him crash at their home.

Jack ended up making eye-contact with Clay and the cowboy waved at him, flashing him his bright white teeth. Jack was caught off guard for a moment before he smiled and waved back. Clay was a pretty cool guy once you actually got to sit down and talk with him. He wasn't just some hillbilly that only knew trucks and mud and farm animals. Jack's been able to have some pretty intellectual conversations with Clay, he may have had to explain a few things, but Clay was like a sponge and always looked like his full attention was one Jack and only Jack. Something that he wasn't very used to.

The young man caught himself staring at Clay and shook his head. He got up, excused himself and went to the little room that they gave him to use as a makeshift lab. Jack put sound proof foaming all over the walls so he didn't have to worry about waking the monks in the middle of the night if he got the urge to work in the early hours of the day. He went over to a table that sat in the middle of the small room and looked at his Wu-bot. The chest cover was off and a few wires were undone, Jack was currently working on her mega-chip since he managed to finally make the Wu-tracking chip with the help of Dojo and his scroll and was now attempting to get in installed. Jack slipped off his coat and tossed it on a chair, slipped on some gloves, put his goggles on, grabbed a screwdriver and got to work.

"Workin' on Wu-bot?" Jack yelped and dropped the screwdriver when he heard a voice behind him.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to sneak up on me like that, Clay!?" Jack snapped, having recognized the voice.

"Sorry 'bout that. I try not ta." Clay apologized, scratching the back of his head.

"I know, you crazy cowboy." Jack chuckled as Clay rolled his eyes. "And yeah, I'm working on Wu-bot. She's almost done, actually."

"Really? What all you gotta do?" Clay put a hand on the table and leaned over, his head almost bumping Jack.

"The Wu-tracking chip just needs a little more tweaking and then I have to put her back together. Hopefully, she'll work." Jack sighed and went back to work.

"Course she will, you made her." Clay said with a smile.

"Well..I...uh..." Jack swallowed, why was he stuttering?

"All of your inventions work, they're just nothing against us." Clay laughed a little and straightened up, adjusting his hat.

"You guys are just too stubborn to beat sometimes." Jack laughed as well, finding his chest heating up for some reason.

"You've been in here for quite a while, how 'bout you come join me and the others for dinner?" Clay offered.

"Is it really that late?" Jack checked his watch and groaned when he saw that it was already six o'clock.

"Come on, fella, let's go eat." Clay patted Jack's back before lightly pushing on it and moving the smaller man forward. "Or I'll eat it all first." He added softer before running off.

"Hey!" Jack called and took off as well.

"Look out!" Clay warned Raimundo and heard Jack shouting 'get back here you gallon-hat fuck!' behind him. Raimundo quickly stepped to the side and held the bowl of noodles he had above his head so it wouldn't spill as Clay rushed past him. He hopped to the other side to avoid getting ran over by Jack as well. "Howdy, Kimi." Clay greeted as he slid into his seat, tilting his hat towards the giggling Kimiko.

"Why are you two running?" Omi asked after Jack stumbled into his own seat, almost falling over completely.

"That one threatened to eat everything!" Jack snapped before suddenly laughing, Clay joining in a moment later. "Fat-ass."

"Twig." The two laughed even harder.

"Nice to see that you two get along so well." Kimiko chuckled and watched Raimundo place the bowl of noodles down on the table.

"Ain't nothin' wrong with teasin' the fella every now an' then." Clay said with a smirk.

"How's Wu-bot doing?" Raimundo asked, finally sitting down.

"She's almost done, should be finished by tomorrow if I work on her after dinner." Jack answered, helping himself to the noodles.

"And stay up all night again?" Clay said.

"It happens, evil-" Jack caught himself. "Genius' don't sleep and it should actually only take like ten minutes if she works with me."

"Genius' or not, you're still human and ya need sleep." Clay stated.

"What are you going to do, drag me to bed?" Jack scoffed.

"Don't tempt me." Clay warned.

"Bring it, leather chaps." The two stared at each other for a moment before, once again, bursting into laughter.

"I think my teeth just went rotten." Raimundo chuckled and passed the bowl to Kimiko after serving himself.

"Hush." Kimiko jabbed her elbow into Raimundo's side, hoping that the two didn't hear him.

"Any plans for tomorrow or just more training?" Jack asked, shoving a mouthful of noodles into his mouth.

"Training is an important part of being a monk, Jack Spicer." Omi stated. "Without training we-"

"I really don't need a lecture at dinner." Jack said. "If I wanted one of those, I'd dine with my parents."

"How come you never talk about-" Raimundo grunted and grabbed his shin after someone kicked it. He suspected Kimiko, but there was no way she could hit the front of his leg where she sat. Did Clay kick him? He asked himself as he saw the cowboy take a drink of water. "Dude, not cool." He muttered under his breath. Clay only shrugged, pretending that he didn't know what his friend was talking about.

"Sorry to interrupt dinner, but we got a Wu to get." Dojo announced, hopping on the table. "The Ring of Truth." Dojo said as he showed the monks and Jack the scroll. "Anyone who wears the ring will only speak the truth and has to answer any question that is asked of them."

"Let's go!" Raimundo got up.

"Let me get Wu-bot!" Jack said.

"But she's not done." Kimiko said.

"I'll finish her on the way over!" Jack called, already almost out of the room.


	3. Ring of Truth

"Could you fly a little smoother!?" Jack snapped since he had almost dropped Wu-bot for the fifth time.

"Would you like to carry everyone on your back?" Dojo asked with a scoff. "I am trying my best here."

"How much further?" Raimundo asked, not wanting to hear the two bicker.

"Another minute or so. I can feel my scales tingling." Dojo answered and shivered.

"One more turn and..." Jack put his screwdriver into his pocket, pressed the button and Wu-bot buzzed before trying to float into the air. She wasn't ready for the sudden wind and was blown against Jack's chest. "Don't worry girl, you can just ride with us." Jack chuckled and held on to Wu-bot with a hand.

"She workin'?" Clay asked.

"Yep. Well, we'll see if she actually works when we land." Jack said.

"Here we are, kids." Dojo said as he landed, waiting for the monks and Jack to get off of him before returning to his normal, smaller, size.

"Wu-bot, collect, Ring of Truth." Jack released Wu-bot and watched her take off. "I bet a whole month's allowance that she works." Jack said as he went after his invention, the monks and Dojo following not too far behind. Kimiko caught up to Raimundo and whispered to him.

"What do we do if Chase is here?"

"We'll figure it out if it happens." Raimundo admitted. "Although I highly doubt he'll go after this Wu, can't really use it for evil."

"You never know with him." Kimiko sighed.

"Wu-bot!" Jack sang as he pushed through some low-hanging branches and grunted a little when Wu-bot ran into his stomach. "We'll need to work on that." Jack groaned and grabbed Wu-bot, seeing that she held a ring in one of her hands. "You did it!" Jack squealed and hugged the robot. "You work, you work, you work!" He cheered. "I am so proud of you, I can't wait to show the oth-"

"How could I have known that it was one of your devices that swiped the Wu from under my nose?" Jack stiffened when he heard Chase's voice, seeing the warlord walk out from behind a tree.

"Chase? I-I-..." Jack stuttered.

"I must admit, that new creation of yours is something of wonders." Chase said, crossing his arms.

"More of an annoyance , could it possibly be any louder?" Wuya scoffed, showing herself as well.

"I-I'm working on it, she's still pretty new and has a few bugs." Jack said softly.

"Perhaps you're not as worthless as I had believed, all you needed was a simple push." Chase chuckled and walked over to Jack. "Now, hand me the Wu, Spicer." Chase ordered. Jack took a step back and felt himself bump against something. He looked up and saw that it was Clay.

"Greetings, monks." Chase said. "Looks like you're going to witness us leave with the Wu." Jack held Wu-bot closer to his chest and swallowed. "Spicer, let's leave." Chase turned away.

"Uh...I...I can't." Jack said, making Chase and Wuya both stop.

"What?" Chase growled. Jack took the Ring of Truth out of Wu-bot's hand and gave it to Clay.

"Jack, what are you doing!?" Wuya snapped.

"I'm not on your guys' side anymore." Jack's voice was weak as he spoke.

"You get no choice on who's side you are on, you have always been evil." Wuya said.

"And look where it's gotten me." Jack scoffed, speaking a little stronger. "Beaten, insulted and treated like shit on a daily basis. I'm done with that. I'm done with you."

"You watch how you speak to me, worm." Chase was about to move in closer when Clay gently pushed Jack back and stepped in front of him.

"You watch how you speak to our friend." Clay warned. Chase glared at Clay for a moment before letting out a scoff and walked away.

"Fine, enjoy your pathetic little Wu. Until next time, monks."

"We're just going to let them-"

"Do not question me, Wuya." Chase snapped. "We'll discuss this further at the lair." Wuya huffed and glanced at the monks and Jack before leaving with Chase.

"I think I'm going to throw up." Jack said after Chase and Wuya were gone.

"I got ya, partner." Clay held Jack's shoulders and lead the young man away from the area.

"Two weeks." Kimiko said to Raimundo as the other monks followed.

"I give it eight days." Dojo said before going ahead of them so he had room and time to grow.

"Ten." Raimundo added.

"Am I missing something?" Omi asked.

"Just a simple bet, nothing important, buddy." Raimundo chuckled.

"Might I add in my thoughts?" Omi attempted to understand the bet and didn't want to be completely left out. "Twelve days?"

"If he wins it doesn't count." Raimundo said.

"Are y'all comin' or not?" Clay called from the top of Dojo, Jack still stunned and hugging Wu-bot very tightly. The three other monks quickly climbed on top of Dojo as well and the dragon took off when they said they were ready. "You gonna be alright, Jack?" Clay asked a while later.

"I still feel sick." Jack admitted.

"There's no need to be scared." Clay said.

"I'm not scared!" Jack protested. "I don't get...shut up." Jack huffed when he heard Clay chuckle.

"Everyone gets scared, it's what makes us human."

"Are you scared of anything?"

"There's a lot of things that scare me, but I know how to push my fear aside and move on." Jack felt Clay pat his shoulder. "You'll be able to do that too, one day. You're smart, a whole heck of a lot smarter than me, so I know you'll get it quickly." Jack looked at Clay's hand and saw that he was wearing the Ring of Truth, he must have slipped it on before he guided him away. Clay was telling the truth, he actually believed in him.

"Thanks." Jack glanced over his shoulder and smiled at Clay.

"Make it a week." Raimundo whispered to Kimiko.

The group made it back to the Temple. They put the Ring of Truth away, ate a quick meal and headed for bed. Kimiko was dead asleep when there was a knock on her door, waking her. It took her a moment to register reality before softly calling out for whoever it was at the door to come in. She tilted her head and blinked several times, seeing Jack in the dim lighting, staring at the floor and rubbing his arm with embarrassment.

"Bad dream?" Kimiko asked, her voice a little horse.

"Yeah..." Jack whispered.

"Come on." Kimiko scooted over so there was room for Jack to join her. "Nice footy-pajamas." She chuckled

"Thanks." Jack laughed weakly, making sure his back faced Kimiko. The two laid in silence for a bit before Kimiko spoke.

"Mind if I ask what it was?"

"Just...something scary."

"Was it Chase?"

"Yeah." Jack curled up a little, not wanting to admit what the full dream was actually about and why it truly scared him.

"You're safe with us, don't worry." Kimiko's voice got quieter as she spoke, already drifting off.

"I know." Jack laid there for hours, mind racing before he could finally fall asleep, everything blank until the morning.


	4. Confused

"Come on, punch me."

"I'm not going to punch you."

"Punch me."

"No!"

"I'm not gonna get hurt."

"It's not you I'm worried about getting hurt." Jack muttered, crossing his arms and looking away from Clay. The cowboy has been trying to convince Jack to punch him so he'd know how strong he actually was for the past fifteen minutes.

"Punch him, already!" Raimundo called from the sideline, sitting between Kimiko and Omi. Omi was standing and watching intensely while Kimiko sat crossed-legged with Jack's trench coat covering her lap.

"I'm not punching him!" Jack snapped.

"What? Are you too chicken to punch Clay?" Raimundo started clucking and flapping his arms like a bird.

"I'll punch you!" Jack threatened.

"No need for y'all to get fussy." Clay chuckled, waving his hands in the air.

"I'm not-" Jack's protest became a shriek of fear as a loud thunderclap suddenly happened. He jumped up towards Clay and wrapped his arms around his neck. Clay quickly caught the young man so he wouldn't hang or fall off.

"Chase Young!?" Omi shouted, Kimiko and Raimundo scrambling to their feet. Jack yelped, jumped out of Clay's hold and hid behind the larger man.

"Long time no see, monks." Chase greeted. "I know you're behind him, Spicer."

"Uh..." Jack grabbed Clay's arms and started moving them. "I, er, don' know what yer talkin' 'bout, partna." He said with a terrible southern accent.

"Do I really sound like that?" Clay asked, peeking over his shoulder.

"You're killing the illusion." Jack said.

"There is no illusion, Jack." Raimundo sighed.

"What do you want, Chase Young?" Omi asked.

"I'm not here to fight or take any Wu, I simply wish to speak with Spicer." Chase walked over towards Clay, Jack still hiding behind him. "Come out."

"I'm good." Jack squeaked.

"Spicer. Out. Now."

"Listen, lizard-man, if he don't want-" Clay stopped when Jack slowly walked out and stood in front of Chase, eyes focused on the ground.

"Jack, get back and we'll take care of him." Kimiko said, ready to fight.

"It's fine, i-it's fine. I don't want you guys to get hurt because he just wants to talk. He may be an asshole, but he is a man of his word." Jack still refused to look at Chase.

"How is that little invention of yours?" Chase asked, ignoring Jack's insult.

"She's fine." Jack said with no emotion.

"And why are you here with the monks? The same monks who have harmed you physically and emotionally countless of times before, claiming to be the good guys while treating you like some pest." Jack didn't answer.

"Like you're any better. At least we took him in after you tossed him out like he was trash." Kimiko said. "We're the ones who's made sure he's been okay for a whole month. We're the ones who help him when he's in trouble. We like him. You just want to use him."

"You have no knowledge of my intent for Spicer." Chase stated. "And this conversation is between Spicer and I. I'm sure Fung has at least taught you the basics of manners to not interrupt."

"I'll show you manners." Kimiko growled and was about to attack Chase when Raimundo grabbed her arm and shook his head. Kimiko let out a huff and stayed back, crossing her arms. Omi looked like he was ready to jump at any moment, but knew why Raimundo held Kimiko back and stayed where he was as well.

"As I was saying, why are you here? You've never really shown any true interest of being good." Chase looked back at Jack.

"I just am." Jack said.

"Not much of an answer, you usually can speak for hours on end and yet you seem short on words at the moment."

"I don't want to talk to you." Jack stated.

"Now, why's that? Aren't I your idol? The one you look up to?" Jack flinched when he felt a hand on his jaw and shivered a little when it traveled to his chin. His head was forced back and was now facing Chase, a large smirk on the warlord's face. "Perhaps I could convince you to come back to Heylin? Leave the ones who you call 'losers' and join me again. I know how much you would love to be at my side again."

"I...I...I..." Jack's face was red, his heart was pumping and his entire body felt as if it was on fire as Chase got closer and closer to him. There was suddenly a hand on his shoulder and Chase was shoved away. Clay was now between Jack and Chase, just like the other day when they got the Ring of Truth.

"Oh, I see how it is." Chase chuckled and stepped back, a look of amusement on his face. "When you bore of this one, you know where to find me." Chase winked at Jack before snapping his fingers and vanishing.

"Jack, are you..." Clay's question trailed when Jack took off, running straight into the temple.

"You guys tell Master Fung what happened, I'll talk to Jack." Kimiko said before going after Jack.

Kimiko went to Jack's room, knowing that the young man was most likely hiding in there. She found that she was right when she saw a large mass under the blankets on Jack's bed, soft sniffing coming from it. Kimiko walked over to the bed and sat down, letting out a sigh before patting the mound.

"Go away." Jack's voice was muffled.

"It's me." Kimiko said. Jack tossed the blankets off of him and sat up, face still wet from tears. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Honestly, I have no idea." Jack admitted, hugging his knees. "I hate not knowing things."

"Don't we all?" Kimiko chuckled weakly before sighing again. "Jack, you don't need to be so worked up about Chase. I already told you, we'll keep you safe, we won't let him hurt you." Jack was silent for a moment.

"Kimi, Can you keep a secret?" He asked.

"Of course, that's what friends do." Kimiko said.

"I may or may not maybe have a kind of, sort of crush on someone." Jack spoke quickly and quietly. He flinched a little when Kimiko let out a squeal and moved further onto the bed, kneeling in front of him.

"Who is it? Can I guess? I bet I know who it is." Kimiko sang and clapped her hands.

"Um...sure." Jack shrugged, a little concerned at the young woman's excitement.

"Omi?" Kimiko giggled.

"Gross."

"Dojo?"

"Even grosser. Are you even trying?" Jack laughed.

"Raimundo?"

"Like I would try to steal your man." Jack moved his head to the side to dodge a pillow that was thrown at him.

"This isn't about me or is it?" Kimiko let out a hum and leaned forward.

"You wish." Jack chuckled.

"How about Clay?" Kimiko waited for a reaction but got none. "It's not Clay?"

"No..." Jack suddenly lost his smile.

"But you two have been getting so close this past month and Clay likes you." Kimiko stated.

"What?" Jack's face was a little pink as he straightened up.

"Don't tell him that I told you this. It was late at night a couple days ago and he was really sleepy and he admitted that he had a little crush on you so I figured you did too, but you don't and...wait...who is it then?" Kimiko thought for a moment. "Please, please tell me it's not Chase." Jack didn't respond and only looked away. "Jack!"

"I'm sorry!" Jack cried. "I don't why I like him, I just do!"

"After everything he's done to us!? To you!? You like that reptilian bastard!?"

"I don't know! I mean I know, but I don't, I don't..." Jack rubbed at his eyes, wiping his tears away. "I don't know what's wrong with me, but when Chase got close to me...I...I..." Jack started sobbing into his hands.

"Aw, don't do that, Jack-Jack." Kimiko hugged Jack and rubbed his back. "It's okay." Jack cried for a little bit longer before finally calming down and resting his forehead against Kimiko's shoulder.

"I'm an idiot."

"Just a little."

"Kim!" Jack groaned and plopped back. "You're not supposed to agree with me!" He said as he threw both arms into the air before letting them fall.

"You have a crush on a man that has literally tossed you off of a cliff before, you have to admit that's a little idiotic." Kimiko said with a light laugh.

"Maybe a little."Jack admitted. "So, what am I supposed to do now?"

"You're not going to crawl back to Chase for starters and whether you end up with Clay is up to you and him. He's a great guy, he's too sweet for his own good sometimes and he won't treat you like a punching bag." Kimiko said.

"Maybe. I don't know. I don't want to talk about this anymore." Jack sighed.

"How about I get us some ice-cream and we watch an anime or something for the rest of the day. I'm sure Master Fung will understand if we take the rest of the day off." Kimiko suggested, getting off of the bed.

"You're not going to tell anyone about the whole Chase thing, right?" Jack asked.

"What kind of a friend would I be if I told everyone your secret. I pinky swear to not tell anyone without your permission." Kimiko held her hand out towards Jack. Jack chuckled a little and took Kimiko's pinky with his own.

"Thanks." Jack said with a smile. "And I'm picking the anime this time."

"Of course." Kimiko giggled before leaving to get the ice-cream.

Jack laid on his bed alone and in silence, Chase's voice ringing in his head.

 _'When you bore of this one, you know where to find me'_

What did Chase mean by that? 'bore of this one'? Did he mean Clay? Did Chase suspect that he and Clay were...Jack rolled over to his side. Was Chase jealous of that? Chase had gotten so close to him as if planning to kiss him. Jack's face started to burn up again. Chase was going to kiss him? He almost had his first kiss with an evil warlord. Sure, he's kissed his mother and relatives and that one cheerleader robot, but he's never really had a real kiss like you'd expect a couple to have. A couple? Jack buried his face into his arms. Jack could never be in a real relationship...right? He was too weird and clumsy and unattractive and yet Clay apparently liked him and Chase was willing to get so close to him without looking like he was going to be ill. Maybe he could. He didn't know if he liked Clay and he did like Chase, but that was territory he should never visit. Jack let out a sigh and sat up, accepting that only time will tell.


	5. Twenty Questions

"Wu-bot! Wu-bot!" Jack called as he walked through the tall grassy field.

"It's a robot, not a dog." Raimundo said, parting some grass to look in.

"My inventions respond to voice commands, calling for them is easier than just looking." Jack stated. "And Wu-bot's a she, not an 'it'."

"How far do you think she went?" Kimiko asked.

"No clue, if _someone_ hadn't spilled their drink on her, she wouldn't have glitched out and left." Jack glared over his shoulder at Raimundo.

"How many times do I have to say I didn't mean to drop my soda on Wu-bot?" Raimundo groaned.

"You'll keep saying it until we find her." Jack huffed and continued calling out Wu-bot's name.

"It's startin' to get dark, we should head back soon." Clay said.

"Not till I find Wu-bot. Her wiring isn't capable of handling coldness yet." Jack stated. "That was supposed to be her next upgrade." He added with a mutter.

"Where's Omi?" Kimiko asked, having not seen the youngest monk for a bit.

"I'm right here, Kimiko." Omi raised his arms and only his hands could be seen above the grass.

"I would laugh if I wasn't so pissed off right now." Jack said. "Wu-bot!"

"I think I found the little gal." Clay said and crouched down. Jack ran over to the cowboy when he saw the invention in his hands.

"Wu-bot! There you are!" Jack took Wu-bot out of Clay's hands and hugged the machine. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Jack said and hugged Clay as well. "I...uh.." Jack caught what he was doing and stepped back. "S-Sorry, I got a little excited."

"You're fine, you're fine, ain't nothing wrong with a hug every now an' then." Clay coughed into his hand.

"I still got two days and it looks like I might win." Raimundo chuckled softly to Kimiko.

"I bet it happens tomorrow." Kimiko smirked.

"Oh! That's what the bet is about!" Omi announced loudly, gesturing towards Clay and Jack after finally understanding.

"Don't shout that, you chrome-dome!" Raimundo snapped, lowering Omi's hand.

"Bet? What bet?" Jack asked as he and Clay walked over to them.

"There's no bet." Kimiko waved a hand as she spoke. "It's just Omi misusing slang again."

"But how-"

"Let's get Wu-bot back to the temple, I'm sure she could use some fixing after I dumped my soda on her." Raimundo laughed weirdly and grabbed Omi's arm before walking away with him.

"Kimi?" Jack looked at the young woman. Kimiko laughed as well and went after Raimundo and Omi. "You've known them longer than me, any explanation?" Jack asked Clay.

"I'm just as clueless as you are." Clay said, tilting his hat back.

"Wanna play twenty questions?" Jack asked as the two started walking back.

"Sure." Clay shrugged.

"You can go first, let me know when you're ready." Jack began checking over Wu-bot, looks like nothing got too seriously damaged, but a few wires were going to need to be replaced.

"Ready."

"Is it a pig?"

"No, it's not a pig." Clay and Jack both laughed. "Why does everyone assume that it's a pig?"

"You are kind of a farm boy." Jack chuckled.

"And is there somethin' wrong with that?" Clay lightly nudged Jack with an elbow.

"Of course not, I was just answering your question. So, is it an animal?"

"Nope."

"Person?"

"Not a living one."

"Not a...is it a machine?"

"Yep."

"It's Wu-bot, isn't it?" Jack laughed a little when Clay clapped.

"First thing that I saw." Clay admitted.

"Should have-" Jack suddenly stopped and turned his head.

"Jack? You alright there?" Clay asked, trying to see what Jack was staring at."I'm good." Jack moved a little closer to Clay, moving away from where he was looking and continued walking with the cowboy. He could have sworn that he saw something staring at him in the distance. It looked like a person, but it was too dark and far away to actually see what it was.

"I'm good." Jack moved a little closer to Clay, moving away from where he was looking and continued walking with the cowboy. He could have sworn that he saw something staring at him in the distance. It looked like a person, but it was too dark and far away to actually see what it was.

"Your turn, you ready?" Clay asked.

"Yeah." Jack said softly, his mind not completely with him.

"Is it a robot?"

"No."

"Human?"

"Kind of." Jack glanced over his shoulder and continued answering Clay's questions till the returned to the temple, finding the other monks sitting at the table waiting for them.

"Is it Chase?" Clay asked, making everyone stop what they were doing.

"Yea-no, no, no." Jack shook his head. "I was thinking of the old pet lizard I used to have when I was younger, Einstein, remember?"

"Shoot should have thought of that." Clay snapped his fingers.

"Hey Kimi, can I speak with you?" Jack jerked his head to the side before leaving the room, Kimiko following him out.

"What's-?" Kimiko stopped when Jack put a finger in front of her face and lead her to her room, closing the door behind him. "You're being weirder than usual."

"I think I saw Chase out in the field with us." Jack said quickly.

"What?"

"You guys had gone ahead of us and I was talking with Clay and I'm pretty sure I saw him out of the corner of my eye." Jack placed Wu-bot down on Kimiko's desk and started pacing while Kimiko sat down on her bed.

"Are you sure? Maybe it was a scarecrow or something?" Kimiko suggested.

"Scarecrows don't have big glowing orange eyes." Jack groaned and pressed his palms to the side of his head. "This is insane!"

"Maybe he was looking for Wu-bot himself. He was really interested in her, wasn't he?"

"Yeah, it was like he really wanted her."

"He's after Wu-bot, not us or you."

"So he was just going to use me?" Jack plopped down on the bed next to Kimiko. "I feel violated and he didn't even do anything."

"At least we know what his intention is now and we can use that against him."

"How?"

"I honestly have no idea, but we'll find a way." Kimiko laid down on the bed as well. "So, what were you and Clay talking about?"

"We were just playing twenty questions."

"How romantic."

"Shut up." Jack and Kimiko both chuckled a little as he gently pushed her. "I don't like him...I think."

"Oh? You like him, don't you?" Kimiko sang.

"Maybe, I don't know. Like you said, he's a sweet guy. I might give him a chance." Jack flinched when Kimiko squealed and started hitting his stomach.

"Do it, do it, do it!" She said rapidly.

"K-Kimi." Jack stuttered, laughing.

"Sorry, forgot you were ticklish." Kimiko moved her hands away. "I wonder if Clay knows?"

"Kim!"

"What? Can you really blame me?" Kimiko winked and stuck out her tongue.

"You're horrible." Jack grabbed one of the many pillows on Kimiko's bed and put it on top of his face.

"There's no need to be so embarrassed, I'm sure Clay will-"

"Don't you even finish that statement." Jack sat up and tossed the pillow at Kimiko. "How are you and Raimundo doing, by the way?"

"I-I don't know what you're talking about." Kimiko said, taking the pillow that was tossed at her and hugging it.

"Ah! There it is, I knew it." Jack was happy to get the attention off of him for once. "You should ask him out."

"Ladies don't ask people out, they get asked out." Kimiko stated.

"When did you ever follow the rules of ladies? Sure, you wear makeup and like clothes, but you watch anime, play video games and you're a fighter and do I need to get your monster truck collection? Because I will." Jack started crawling off of the bed but was pulled back down.

"I get it. But what's wrong with me wanting to be treated like a princess and have him sweep me off my feet? You'd think he'd get the hints by now." Kimiko sighed.

"Please, that guy is more clueless than a turkey during Thanksgiving." Jack stiffened when he realized what he had just said.

"That's a Clay phrase!"

"No, it's not!"

"How about this; I'll ask Raimundo out when you ask Clay out." Kimiko giggled.

"But-I-uh..." Jack stuttered.

"It's a deal."

They continued talking, unaware that Clay was at the other end of the door, having heard most of the conversation. He was going to tell the two that there was some food ready and ended up overhearing Kimiko asked Jack what they were talking about om their way back and could not stop himself from staying and listening to everything else. Clay finally stepped away from the door and left, figuring the two would come out when they were done.


	6. Playing Around

Jack let out a groan and wiped away his eyeliner for what felt like the hundredth time, for some reason he just could not get it right. The other eye was just fine, but he kept messing up his traditional scar-like like on the other one. The young man tossed the black tissue into a small trash bin and tried again. He slammed the pencil down and grunted loudly when his hand had slipped and ruined the line.

"Havin' some trouble, there?" Clay asked with a chuckle, leaning against the doorframe.

"No! Maybe...a little...yes." Jack sighed. "I don't know why, but I can't seem to make a solid line today." He huffed.

"I can try to help ya." Clay offered, walking over to the desk and picking up the eyeliner pencil.

"What do you know about eyeliner or makeup in general?" Jack scoffed.

"I have a sister and I'm friends with Kimiko, you tend to pick a few things up along the way." Clay chuckled and grabbed Jack's chin. "Now, stay still so I don't poke ya." Jack could feel his stomach tighten a little as Clay softly ran the tip of the eyeliner along his check. He smiled a little when he saw that the tip of Clay's tongue was sticking out from between his lips, eyes locked with concentration. Jack held on to his leg, unsure where to put them and he kept finding himself staring at the cowboy. Maybe he should try what Kimiko had suggested yesterday. "There, I think I got it."

"Thanks." Jack took his eyeliner back and looked in his mirror. "Oh! You actually did it right."

"And you're shocked?" Clay scoffed.

"Cowboys aren't usually very graceful." Jack said, capping the eyeliner and putting it away.

"You'll learn that there's a lot about me that don't fit your cowboy mold." Clay chuckled.

"I bet. So, what's happening today? I can't do anything with Wu-bot since she's still a little wet from yesterday and I don't want to sit and watch you guys punch and kick each other for hours."

"We're actually taking a fun day."

"And what happens during these 'fun' days?"

"Play some games, joke around and there's a carnival nearby we're plannin' on hittin' up." Clay explained.

"That actually sounds kind of cool." Jack admitted with a shrug.

"Let's go then, Raimundo challenged Kimiko to a race and we're gonna miss it if we stand around much longer." Jack followed Clay outside and the two sat with Omi. Kimiko and Raimundo were standing next to each other, both ready to take off at any moment.

"Took you two long enough." Raimundo chuckled.

"Blame Jack." Clay said, gesturing with a thumb towards the young genius.

"Hey!" Jack protested.

"The rules are simple the first one to return from the tree wins." Omi stated.

"Ready to lose?" Kimiko said.

"I'm the dragon of wind, there is no beating me." Raimundo scoffed.

"No one can outrun a flame." Kimiko winked.

"Quit flirting!" Jack called, making Kimiko and Raimundo stumble a little.

"Jack!" Kimiko snapped.

"On your mark!" Clay said, interrupting the two before they could continue

"Get set." Omi added.

"Go!" Jack, Clay, and Omi shouted together and the two took off.

"Go Kimi!" Jack cheered. "Beat that Brazilian ass!" Omi looked at Jack with shock while Clay laughed.

"You got this, Kimiko!" Clay cheered as well.

"What about me!?" Raimundo scoffed, looking over and tripping over a stone right before crossing the finish line, which was a stick on the ground. Kimiko sighed and stopped next to Raimundo, holding one of her hands out.

"It's not winning if you trip." She said with a small smile.

"Aw." Jack held out the word and cupped his face with his hands. Kimiko stuck her tongue out at Jack while Raimundo patted the dirt off of him, unaware of the situation.

"Ain't that just the sweetest thing?" Clay chuckled.

"It was most kind, friends do help each other like that." Omi stated. Clay and Jack shared a look before laughing a little at the naive boy.

"I give it three days." Clay said.

"I give it two." Jack countered.

"Loser cleans the other's room for a week?"

"You're on, farm boy."

"Another bet?" Omi raised his brows. "I only just got what Kimiko's, Raimundo's, and Dojo's bet was, not must I go through the trouble of figuring out another?"

"What bet?" Clay and Jack asked.

"Oh! I was informed to not tell you about it according to the secret bet rules." Omi said.

"Then we can't tell you our bet, with the secret bet rules and all." Jack shrugged and shook his head. "Too bad, it's a really great bet too." The young man clicked his tongue.

"But I do not want to be left out of the hoop." Omi pressed his hands against the ground and leaned forward.

"Loop and we can't tell you ours if you don't tell us theirs." Jack said.

"Are you harassing Omi again?" Kimiko asked with a laugh as she and Raimundo finally rejoined the others.

"They're trying to break the secret bet rules." Omi said.

"I'll tell you about it tonight, Jack." Kimiko sighed. "Now, can we go play?"

"Wait here, I got something ready for us." Raimundo chuckled and took off.

"Why am I scared for my life?" Jack asked.

"It's Raimundo, he probably just has...a huge tub?" Kimiko blinked several times as Raimundo dragged a large plastic tub towards them. He reached in and pulled out five baskets. "What?"

"Omi will probably have an advantage, but why not?" Raimundo took out a water balloon from one of the baskets and threw it at Clay.

"I see how it is!" Clay laughed and grabbed himself a basket before hitting Raimundo with a water balloon. Everyone grabbed their own baskets and separated. Clay, Raimundo, Kimiko all laughed as they got hit, threw and dodged the water balloons, Omi standing and attempting to understand the game.

"So I just toss these at everyone?" Omi asked, holding a balloon in his hand.

"Yep." Jack popped one of his balloons over Omi's head.

"Oh! The goal is to get everyone wet." Omi threw his hands towards Jack and a large tidal wave of water appeared and swept Jack away.

"That's not..." Jack coughed up some water. "That's not how you do it."

"Jack Spicer, I am sorry." Omi apologized.

"Oops." Clay chuckled before dumping the rest of the water balloons over Omi's head.

"You alright, Jack?" Kimiko called.

"Yeah, just soaked to the bone." Jack got up and squeezed some water out of his shirt.

"Looks like it's time to dry off and head to the carnival." Raimundo said.

x~x~x

Jack sat in front of his mirror and was redoing his eyeliner, it was starting to get too tedious to care for today, but he wouldn't be himself without the signature black makeup. The eyeliner pencil slipped out of his hands and when Jack straightened back up, he yelped when he saw a familiar figure in his mirror.

"Ch-Chase!?" Jack scrambled to his feet and held his hands in front of himself. "W-What are you doing here? Cl-" JAck's shout was cut off by Chase putting a bare hand over his mouth. Where were Chase's armor and gloves?

"There's no need to shout, Spicer. There's no need to be fearful." Jack started to shake a little and grabbed Chase's arm, feeling as if he would fall over without that support. "I'm actually shocked." Chase lowered his hand and Jack took a step back, regaining his balance and no longer needing to hold on to Chase. "I honestly believed that you would be done with that farm boy by now."

"His name's Clay." Jack stated.

"So he has a name?" Chase placed a hand on Jack's chest and pushed him back against the wall. "Why do you keep tricking yourself into thinking that you can stay here with these monks with 'Clay'." Chase practically spat out the name.

"Jealous much?" Jack regretted his statement when Chase's hand moved to his neck and was now only inches away from his face.

"Actually, I am." Chase stated.

"What?" Jack squeaked out.

"I do not like seeing what I wish to claim as my own being looked at by some blonde fool." Chase slowly trailed his hand up and rubbed his thumb against Jack's cheek, noticing that half of his black marking were missing.

"Claim? I-I'm not something to be claimed." Jack tried to speak with power, but his voice was soft and he could feel his heart threatening to pound out of him at any moment.

"Perhaps my wording doesn't voice what my true intents are." Chase took the eyeliner pencil from Jack's trembling hand. "Don't move." Jack stiffened as Chase started applying the eyeliner to his face. It was softer than when Clay did it. If that was even possible. He didn't know how to feel about having two different people do his makeup on the same day. "Much better." Chase dropped the pencil on the desk. "Where were we?"

"Letting me go?" Jack said with a small shrug.

"Nice try, Spicer." Chase said with a light chuckle. Jack nervously laughed as well, getting that feeling of wanting to throw up again. "Now, tell me how come you keep pretending to like it here?"

"I-I do." Jack swallowed as Chase moved even closer to him.

"Do you? Do you really? You don't miss being on the side of evil?"

"I don't." Jack said weakly.

"Are you sure that you're done being who you have been for your whole life. Are you done with wanting to rule the world, making everyone who has ever cause you pain in any way to fall to their knees in front of you? Are you sure that you're done with me?" Jack discovered that he was having a hard time breathing. "I've done a lot of thinking for the past few days and I decided that I want you." Jack's eyes went wide.

"Want?"

"Your intelligence was masked by your immaturity, but we can easily fix that with some training and your beauty is something I have never seen in my many years, skin white as pure snow and eyes blood-red." Jack's cheeks flushed. "I like seeing your porcelain skin tinted with embarrassment." Chase moved over to the side of Jack's head and whispered into his ear. "I bet it looks even better flushed with desire." Jack didn't know how to react or feel or anything after that comment. "I know that there are things I can give you that the monk could probably never dream of. He seems to innocent for that." Jack didn't fully understand what Chase meant by that. "Allow me to give you a small taste of what I can give you when you return to my side."

" I-" Jack was cut off by Chase putting his lips on his own. Jack froze.

Jack froze. He didn't know what to do. The young man felt his wrists being grabbed and his arms lifted above his head as Chase pushed himself even closer to Jack, pressing their bodies together. Jack gasped when Chase bit his lower lip and something slipped into his own mouth. Was that a tongue? Holy shit, it's a tongue. Jack's hands balled up when Chase explored his entire mouth. A shiver went down Jack's back as Chase slowly slid his hands down his arms, his fingertips barely brushing his skin. Jack found himself completely breathless when Chase finally parted.

"Looks like I was correct." Chase chuckled.

"Hey, Jack? You almost done, buddy?" Clay said, softly knocking on the door.

"I'm not going to force you to come back, it's not as fun when they fight. I'm a patient man, I'm willing to wait till you tire of pretending to be something you're not. I'll be seeing you soon, Spicer." Chase gave Jack one more quick kiss before vanishing.

"Jack? You okay?" Clay turned the knob and slowly opened the door. "Jack." He peeked his head in when there was no answer.

"Y-Yeah, I'm good. Was just struggling with my eyeliner again." Jack lied and grabbed his trench coat, slipping it on.

"You need help?" Clay asked opening the door all the way.

"Nope, I got it." Jack took in a deep breath before facing Clay, hoping that nothing showed that would give away what just happened.

"You look a little red."

"I'm albino, I get red from just getting out of bed." Jack laughed and walked out of the room, squeezing past Clay. "We should get going, don't want the others to leave without us."

"Uh...sure." Clay looked back into the room before following Jack, he was sure that he heard a second voice in Jack's room.


	7. Ferris Wheel

"Five tickets please." Jack said to the man, leaning against the counter.

"You don't need to get one for the little guy." The man stated, pulling out the tickets.

"Just let me have five of them. I don't want him to be the only one without a ticket. He already feels like the odd one out, being the youngest, with no family to speak of and his condition that makes his skin yellow could take him out any day now. I don't want him to be any more different than what he already is." Jack looked over at Omi who was talking about being excited for several of the rides. "Doctor says he might not make it to the end of the month and I want his last days to be happy, you know what I'm saying..." Jack read the man's nametag. "Frank?"

"Of course, here, have the tickets, you don't even have to worry about paying for them. Just make sure the little guy's happy with the time he's got left." Frank sniffed and handed Jack the tickets.

"Thank you." Jack smiled and walked away, a wicked grin on his face as he returned to the monks and gave them their tickets.

"I want to play that balloon popping game!" Omi announced.

"It's nice to see that you are all so willing to make sure your friend is happy with his condition." Frank said to the older monks right before they entered the gate, gesturing towards Omi.

"My condition?" Omi looked up at the others.

"It's nothing to worry about, let's just go on in before the games shut down." Jack nudged Omi on.

"I must play before they close!" Omi shouted and took off.

"You didn't pay for the tickets, did you?" Kimiko asked while Raimundo went after Omi and she and Clay walked with Jack.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Jack said with false innocence.

"You never took out your wallet." Clay stated.

"I had to see if I still had it." Jack shrugged.

"You're supposed to be good, Jack." Kimiko flicked Jack's shoulder.

"Good guys can have some fun. Plus if I didn't day anything he wouldn't have given Omi a ticket and I didn't want him to feel left out." Jack admitted.

"Softie." Clay chuckled.

"This coming from Mr. 'Can't Even Hurt A Fly'?" Jack scoffed.

"They're just a little annoyin', ain't no need to hurt 'em. Kinda sounds like someone I know." Clay hummed and nudged Jack lightly.

"Hey!"

"Guys, get over here, we need three more players!" Raimundo called from a whack-a-mole station.

"Jack! Do you see that panda!?" Kimiko squealed and pointed out the large stuffed animal. "I have to win it!"

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Jack asked Clay as Kimiko took off.

"I'll talk to Omi, you figure out how to distract Kimi." Clay tilted his hat towards Jack before going over to the young monk. Jack watched Clay whisper to Omi while he went to the station next to Kimiko.

"You ready?" The worker asked, not paying much attention to the group.

"Yep." Kimiko said and without warning the game started.

"Hey Kimi, I accidently dropped your lipstick in the toilet this morning." Jack said, trying his best not to laugh at his lie.

"You what!? " Kimiko thumped Jack with her mallet. "How do you accidently drop my lipstick!? What were you even doing with it!?" Kimiko flinched a little when there was a sudden loud horn.

"Congrats, what you want?" The worker was now leaning against her fist.

"You made me lose." Kimiko thumped Jack again.

"Oops, I'm sorry, Kimiko." Jack held out his words.

"I'll take the-" Raimundo stopped when Omi started gesturing wildly towards the panda bear. "Why would I-" He stopped again when Clay pointed at the bear, then at Kimiko and repeated the movement till Raimundo finally understood. "Oh, I'll take the bear please."

"Here, enjoy the rest of your day." The worker handed Raimundo the panda bear and returned to reading her book.

"Why are you acting so strange?" Kimiko asked Jack, turning her head when she felt someone poke her shoulder.

"I got this for you." Raimundo said behind the panda bear he was holding towards Kimiko.

"Thank you!" Kimiko took the bear and hugged Raimundo, she looked up and saw Jack making kissing faces at them. She rolled her eyes and released Raimundo.

"Can we ride some rides now?" Omi asked. "The hammer one looks most amusing."

"Is he tall enough for that ride?" Jack asked quietly to Clay.

"Not at all." Clay stated. "How about we hit the bumper cars first, little buddy?" Clay lead Omi away. Jack chuckled a little and watched Clay pick the younger monk up and allowed him on his shoulders.

"'Cause mama I'm in love with a cowboy." Kimiko sang.

"And this type of love isn't rational, it's a country boy." Raimundo joined in.

"How dare you use Britney against me." Jack muttered and crossed his arms.

"We just don't want to see you pretending to not like him." Kimiko said. Jack let out several unintelligible mutters and curled up a little.

"You know what they say, everything's bigger in Texas." Raimundo winked before running away.

"Raimundo Pedrosa!" Jack snapped, his face a bright red.

"Come on, we'll get back at him later." Kimiko giggled.

"As in 'set him on fire'?" Jack suggested.

"That's slightly frowned upon." Kimiko laughed a little.

"A man can dream." Jack chuckled.

The day went by quickly with the group enjoying the games, eating a bunch of junk that would probably give them all stomach aches tomorrow and riding as many rides as they could more times than they could count. Eventually, the sun set and they were now limited on what they could do.

"How about the Ferris-Wheel?" Raimundo suggested. "It's the only thing we haven't done yet."

"Might as well." Kimiko shrugged. The others agreed and got into the line.

Omi ended up talking to a young boy in the line and had agreed to sit with each other since they were both the odd ones out. The young boy's sibling had a date and didn't really want his little brother to be squeezed on the seat with them.

"You two mind riding together, I want to sit with Kimi." Raimundo asked Clay and Jack.

"No problem, partner." Clay said.

"Sure." Jack shrugged and he and Clay went up to the ride and sat in the seat.

"Mind doing me a favor?" Raimundo went up to the worker and handed him a ten dollar bill. "See the cowboy and albino? Would you make sure they end up on top, please?" The worker pocketed the bill and nodded his head. "Thanks."

"Think I'd get in trouble if I stuck my legs out?" Jack asked as the ride started moving.

"Just a little." Clay chuckled.

"Damn, the thing doesn't rock." Jack huffed when he attempted to move the seat. "That's no fun." The young man drooped his body over the railing and almost thumped his jaw against it when the ride stopped. "Are we on top!?"

"Afraid of heights?" Clay asked.

"Maybe a little, but I never end up on top with these things." Jack laughed a little. "It looks really cool up here, I think I can see the temple."

"It is really pretty." Clay cleared his throat.

"You alright there?" Jack asked with a light laugh.

"Um...yeah...I just...uh..." Clay took in a deep breath. "I...I like ya, Jack." Jack was not ready for that.

"Oh..." Jack was pretty sure that was not the kind of response you're supposed to have to that.

"Kimiko's been pushin' for me to uh...ask ya if ya wanna..." Clay cleared his throat again, obviously very embarrassed at what was happening and Jack was the same.

"Same." Jack said softly.

"So...do you wanna, like..." Clay gently put his hand on top of Jack's.

"I mean, we could." Jack looked at the cowboy.

"It'll be...hard to explain to Omi." Clay said as the two started moving closer together.

"Everything's hard to explain to him." Jack stated.

"I guess..." Jack saw that Clay had stopped moving. The young genius found them just inches apart and discovered that he was the one who had to close the distance and he did.

The kiss didn't last long and Jack realized he didn't have that stomach pinching feeling he had when Chase kissed him. It felt as if something was missing, but it was a kiss, nonetheless. The ride continued after that and they got off without a word and rejoined the others.

"Looks like you won Kimi." Raimundo sighed as Kimiko did a little dance.

"I knew it! That was so cute!" Kimiko squealed. "We saw you guys." Clay and Jack both stiffened.

"I would have preferred if you two waited till tomorrow to hook up, but getting together at the carnival seems more appropriate." Raimundo shrugged.

"We were the bet, weren't we?" Jack asked Omi and the boy nodded his head. "Great."

"You won the bet as well, Jack. I saw those two havin' a bit of fun first." Clay stated.

"Oh? Kimi, you must tell me the details." Jack looped his arm with Kimiko's and walked off with her.

"What did we get ourselves into?" Raimundo asked Clay.

"At least they like each other." Clay chuckled.

The group made it back to the temple and after talking for a bit longer, they separated for bed. Clay and Jack ended walking together since their rooms were in the same and Omi's wasn't as far down as theirs. Clay walked past his room and stopped at Jack's, not realizing that he had.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Clay said and was about to walk away but Jack grabbed the front of his shirt and kissed him again.

"Night." Jack flashed a quick smile before going into his room, shutting the door behind him.

Jack let out a grunt and slid down the door. Nothing. There was nothing again. Why didn't he get the same feeling kissing Clay as he did when Chase kissed him? Chase is crude and evil and mean to him while Clay is gentle and soft and kind and yet he felt a thrill with Chase and nothing with Clay. Why can't he just like Clay? Why can't he realize that it's better for him to be with Clay? Clay would never hurt him like Chase had. But those words Chase had said to him earlier that day. How he was smart and beautiful, maybe Chase had changed. He did say that he wanted him, that he could give him things Clay could never dream of. Jack groaned and put his hands over his face as he slid down the rest of the way, his back now on the floor. Why was it so hard for Jack to get over this? Why was he having a hard time making, what should be, an easy choice? On one had he had a sweet cowboy that would probably never leave his side and on the other was an evil warlord that could kill him with a snap of his fingers if his mood suddenly decides to. But Clay's too shy and gentlemanly to do anything and Jack's not really the kind to make the first move every single time while Chase was not afraid to take action and take what he wants and that's what Jack's always like about him. That was why he idolized him for so long and even still does.

"What is wrong with me?" Jack asked himself and dragged himself to his bed. "It shouldn't be this hard."


	8. A Tip

"Jack? Jackie? You plan on getting up today?" Kimiko asked from behind Jack's door. "You can't sleep all day." She opened the door and walked in, finding Jack curled up on his bed. "Wakey, wakey." Kimiko giggled and threw herself on top of Jack. "Jack? Jack, are you okay?" Kimiko pulled the blanket down and saw that Jack was staring blankly at nothing. "Are you sick? I'd say you look pale, but you always are." Jack didn't respond and kept staring. "You'd usually laugh at that comment. Do I need to get Master Fung? Mas-"

"Kimiko, don't. Please." Jack finally spoke.

"Did you get sick from all the junk we ate?" Kimiko asked.

"I wish it was that." Jack sighed.

"What's wrong?" Kimiko ran a hand through Jack's hair, knowing that the young man liked that.

"Some...stuff happened yesterday." Jack muttered.

"You and Clay kissed, is that why you're all bummed out? I thought you liked him?" Kimiko noticed that Jack's eyeliner was smeared down his cheeks, had he been crying?

"I do. I think, I mean...I saw Chase before we went to the carnival." Jack admitted.

"You saw him?"

"He appeared in my room when I was getting changed after the water balloon fight. I was redoing my eyeliner and boom, there he was." Jack rubbed an eye with the back of his hand.

"Did he hurt you or threaten you? Did he take Wu-bot?" Kimiko looked around for the machine and found her on Jack's desk, where she always was when she wasn't on.

"He..." Jack's voice dropped to a whisper. "He kissed me."

"He kissed you!? He treats you horribly, throws you out, tries to use you to get Wu-bot and then he kisses you!? That's it! I'm finding him and I'm kicking him right in his pathetic lizard di-"

"Kimiko, wait!" Jack grabbed Kimiko's arm before she could climb all the way off of the bed. "You can't go after Chase."

"I'll set his stupid lair on fire!"

"Rock-based lairs don't work like that."

"I will find a way!"

"Kimiko, listen!" Jack cried. Kimiko settled down a little and Jack let her go. "I...I actually don't know what to say."

"What are you going to tell Clay?" Kimiko asked.

"I'm not going to. Chase kissed me before we did on the Ferris-Wheel. He probably won't come after me, again. I bet he's waiting for me to crawl back to him, he said that he's a patient man."

"Do you still like him?"

"I wish I didn't."

"Jack!" Kimiko snapped. "For a genius, you are sure acting like an idiot!"

"Don't you think I know that!? Don't you think that I hate that I liked it better when Chase kissed me than me kissing Clay!? Don't you think I want to change what my stupid heart is making me think!?" Jack threw the blanket off of himself. "I hate this! I hate all of this! I feel like some girl in a terrible romance novel!"

"So...you're just going to avoid Chase and give Clay a chance?" Kimiko asked after a moment of awkward silence.

"I guess." Jack shrugged.

"Do I get any details?" Kimiko asked after another moment of awkward silence.

"About?"

"You know." Kimiko held out the words.

"You saw what happened with me and Clay." Jack muttered.

"I gave you details about me and Raimundo, you have to be fair here."

"Fine. Our first kiss wasn't much-"

"First? There were more!?" Kimiko gasped loudly.

"Would you quit shouting!?" Jack snapped. "But yes, there were two with us yesterday and I had to kiss him both times."

"Something wrong with that?" Kimiko asked.

"I don't know, I just didn't get the rush from kissing him that I got from Chase kissing me. Although, Chase and I did a little more than kiss."

"You two didn't-"

"Not that far! Kimiko, no!" Jack waved his hands in front of himself. "He pinned me to the wall and ran his hands across my body and there was tongue and-" Jack let out an embarrassed sound and curled up, hiding his red face.

"Clay's just a little shy when it comes to this, just give him some time and he'll be more willing to kiss you. I don't know Clay well enough for the other stuff."

"This is getting weird to talk about." Jack said.

"Yeah, wanna go get some breakfast or lunch...it's past noon." Kimiko suggested.

"Oops." Jack chuckled weakly and shrugged. "Looks like I slept through your guys' morning training."

"Come on, let's go feed you. You're so small that you could blow away at any moment." Kimiko chuckled.

"You're smaller than me." Jack stated.

"But I'm a lady." Kimiko

"You're a lot more than just a lady, you're a pain in the ass."

"Don't make me kick yours."

"Oh please, please, please, don't hurt me, my poor man ego wouldn't be able to take it."

"Do I even want to know?" Raimundo asked, standing at the door.

"Nope." Jack and Kimiko quickly slipped out of the room. Raimundo let out a sigh before following the two.

The next week went by without much incident, just training and talking about everything and nothing. Jack hadn't seen or heard from Chase at all and truly believed that the warlord had either forgotten him or was the patient man he claimed to be. Jack was finally able to allow himself to get closer to Clay without fear of Chase suddenly bumping in. Not much happened, the two just hung out a lot more by themselves than before and nothing more than holding hands or laying against each other happened between them and Jack wasn't a big fan of how slow they were going, but it was better than nothing. Kimiko and Raimundo were getting closer to each other as well and Jack ended up walking in on them kissing more than once and would always make an inappropriate comment before leaving. The gang was now sitting in a makeshift living room Jack made, watching a movie on a large television set Jack had also bought. Omi sat on the floor in front of the screen, wildly entertained by the very old film, but looked as if he would pass out at any moment. Raimundo and Kimiko sat together on one end of the couch while Jack was laying on top on Clay on the other end. Kimiko had seen this movie many times before and was playing on her phone.

"That would be fun." Kimiko hummed to herself before getting up and leaving the room for a while. When she returned the film had just ended and Omi had fallen asleep on the floor.

"Looking good, Kimi." Raimundo chuckled, seeing Kimiko in a sleek red dress.

"We're going out. All four of us, get up and dress nicely." Kimiko stated and walked right back out of the room.

"Wait, what?" Raimundo quickly got up and went after Kimiko.

"The means get up, Clay and Jack!" Kimiko's shout made the two flinch and Jack ended up falling off of the couch.

"How does a small woman have such a loud voice?" Clay muttered. "Where does she keep it?"

"Don't ask me, we just talk about makeup and boys." Jack shrugged.

"Boys? You talk 'bout me with her?" Clay asked.

"We should probably get ready before Kim yells again." Jack ran off before Clay could speak again.

Jack was adjusting his tie as he walked towards the exit of the temple and found Clay waiting there already, wearing khakis, a button up shirt, and his signature hat. Jack rolled his eyes and walked up to the cowboy.

"You can't wear that to a fancy restaurant." Jack stated.

"This is one of the nicest shirts I own." Clay said.

"I'm talking about the hat."

"Me and my hat are a packaged deal."

"Did you even do anything with your hair?" Jack sighed. "Kimiko's gonna be mad if she sees your hat."

"She knows 'bout my hat. I always wear it." Jack attempted to grab the hat and Clay stepped away. "No one touches the hat."

"You can wear the stupid hat, I just want to fix your hair." Jack said before taking the hat off, ignoring Clay's glare as he sat it aside. "I can never see your eyes because of your bangs, I don't even think I know their color." Jack pulled a comb out of his pocket and started to fix Clay's hair. "Blue." The young genius chuckled a little and finished combing the cowboy's hair. "There, nice and tidy." Jack picked the hat back up. "You look very handsome." He said with a small smile and handed Clay his hat.

"As do you." Clay said.

"Aren't you two just dashing?" Kimiko giggled as she and Raimundo joined the two men.

"And you're beautiful." Jack took Kimiko's hand and kissed it.

"Alright, enough." Raimundo said.

"Someone's jealous." Clay chuckled.

"We should get going before the restaurant closes." Raimundo stated.

"Did you get Omi in bed?" Kimiko asked Clay.

"Yep, little guy was all tuckered out." Clay answered.

"Good." Kimiko smiled and the four left the temple.

The dinner was nice and the group had a lot of fun. Clay ended up taking off his hat halfway through the dinner and claimed that it was too warm inside of the restaurant to wear his hat. Raimundo tried his best to be gentlemen and held the door open for everyone and pulled out Kimiko's chair for her to sit, but ended up pulling it out too far and had to catch Kimiko to prevent her from falling to the ground. Kimiko showed everyone how to use chopsticks, but Clay ended up giving up and used his fork to eat his sushi. Jack ended up teaching the group how to fold their napkins into off shapes, saying he learned how to do that from the many events his parents dragged him to when he was younger and having nothing better to do. They all left happy and full.

"I still can't believe you did that to the waitress' tip." Kimiko said to Jack.

"She deserved it." Jack stated.

"So you put the tip in your cup of water?" Raimundo said.

"And flipped it over?" Clay added.

"I heard them mocking Clay and the only ones that can mock Clay is us. So I decided to give her some fun." Jack answered.

"Aw, someone was being protective of their boyfriend." Kimiko giggled.

"Plus she said my skin made me look like one of those china dolls you'd but for a dollar at a garage sale, so I added a fun little note on the check." Jack smirked.

"I'm gonna ignore that last part and thank you." Clay chuckled.

"Clay, can I talk to you for a moment?" Kimiko asked.

"Um, sure." Clay followed Kimiko out of the room.

"Any clue what Kim's saying to Clay?" Jack asked, peeking around the corner and seeing that Clay's face was bright red as Kimiko spoke.

"I've learned not to question her." Raimundo said. "I'm crashing for the night, see you tomorrow." Raimundo waved before leaving.

"Night." Jack said and quickly returned to where he was when Clay and Kimiko came back.

"Night guys." Kimiko winked and continued walking along.

"What's that about?" Jack asked Clay.

"Nothing, let's just turn in for the night." Clay's face was still a little pink as the two headed for their rooms. Clay walked past his room like he had been for the past week, always making sure that Jack made it to his own room safely.

"Tonight was fun." Jack said, opening his door.

"Yeah..."

"You tired?" Jack asked.

"Actually, I need to..." Clay took in a deep breath before taking Jack by the front of his shirt, pushed him against the wall and slammed a kiss onto his lips. Jack wasn't ready for the sudden kiss and felt a slight rush from the dominance. But the kiss only lasted for a second. "Bye." Clay squeaked out and ran off, leaving a stunned Jack. Jack stumbled into his room and closed the door. It took a moment for him to realize that his light was still off and when he flicked them on, he let out a yelp.

"How sweet, the farm boy finally got the nerve to kiss you. Sloppily and rushed, all be it, but still a kiss." Chase chuckled as he sat on Jack's bed, Wu-bot in his hands.

"If you want to take Wu-bot, go ahead." Jack said, knowing that she only responds to his voice.

"I don't want your little toy. I don't need it." Chase stated and dropped Wu-bot on the bed.

"What do you want then?" Jack tried his best to keep his voice steady, ready to scream.

"I'm sure I've made that clear before, I've even stated it to you." Chase slowly rose from the bed and walked over to Jack. "And don't bother with your screaming, the lovebirds are outside and I'm sure your little cowboy is curled up in a corner and can't hear with all that blood rushed to his head."

"Just leave me alone, you don't need me." Jack said.

"That's where you're wrong, Spicer. I can't seem to get you out of my mind for some reason." Chase put a hand on Jack's waist and pulled the younger man towards him. "And your taste was so addictive, I simply had to come back for more." Jack turned his head when Chase tried to kiss him. "I'm happy here. I'm happy with Clay. I'm happy away from you." Jack struggled to get himself out of Chase's hold, but the warlord's grip was too strong, even with only one hand.

"I'm happy here. I'm happy with Clay. I'm happy away from you." Jack struggled to get himself out of Chase's hold, but the warlord's grip was too strong, even with only one hand.

"You keep saying that and yet I still don't believe you." Chase pressed his lips to Jack's neck, making the hands on his shoulders tighten and scrap against his armor. "Admit it, you miss me."

"I..." Jack hated himself. Jack hated every single emotion that was flowing through his body. He wished that he could just say he felt lust for Chase, but that would have been a lie. Jack loved Chase for who he was, not what his body looked like. He loves how powerful and determined and mentally strong Chase is. How he can make the whole world tremble with fear with a single look from those piercing eyes. It definitely always made Jack's heart race and knees weak ever since the first time he saw him.

"You know I despise liars, Spicer." Chase lightly scraped his teeth against Jack's neck.

"I do..." Jack said weakly. "I do miss you, I miss being evil. But that's not who I am anymore."

"Are you sure? Just leave with me and you'll be right next to me every day for the rest of eternity, in your own throne."

"What happened to being a patient man and waiting for me?" Jack asked, looking everywhere but at Chase.

"One can only wait so long for a taste of something they crave." Chase chuckled.

"You just want to use me. Go find some other plaything." Jack spat.

"Again, you're wrong." Chase grabbed Jack's chin and forced the young genius to look at him. "Your presence was entertaining and it may have been irritating at points, it's much better than dealing with Wuya on my own."

"Leave me alone."

"Where's the fun in that? The chase is thrilling and the more I wait and tease, the better the final prize will be." Chase grinned before kissing Jack. Jack felt that same rush as the last time Chase kissed him, the heat in his body and his stomach tightening. It was so much more powerful than the light hint of it that he got when Clay pinned him to the wall only minutes ago. "Sadly, you reek of that farm boy and that'll be it for now. I'll see you soon, Spicer and maybe we'll have more fun." Chase released Jack and was gone in a blink.

Jack stared at the blank space. Did he just technically chest on Clay? What kind of a person did that make him? He didn't do anything, but did he really try to make it stop? Did he ever say 'no' or 'stop' or 'don't'? No. He didn't. Jack fell onto his bed and covered his head with a pillow. What was happening with his life? Did he ever wish for something like this? Did he do something that terrible when he claimed to be evil to make this happen? Jack let out a grunt. That it's. Next time Chase appears, he'll run and scream, he's not going to give Chase a chance to try to convince him to go back to Heylin. He wasn't going to let him touch him or get near him or anything. He is going to force these stupid feeling away and stay on the path he has with the monks. He doesn't need Chase. He doesn't need Heylin. He can do this!


	9. Makeover

"You're starting to run out of red." Jack said.

"Are you serious?" Kimiko sighed. "That's my favorite polish."

"We need to go shopping sometime this week. I'm running out of eyeliner as well." Jack dipped the nail polish brush into the bottle and went back to painting Kimiko's nails.

"You run out of eyeliner like every three days." Kimiko scoffed.

"I wear my war paint on a daily basis, it is a necessity." Jack stated.

"I will never understand you two and your makeup." Clay said, leaning back in his chair. Raimundo sat next to him, flipping through the pages of a magazine that Kimiko gave him to read. Omi was watching Jack paint, curious about the process of coloring nails.

"You'd understand it if you wore it." Jack stated.

"Nuh-uh, ain't no way you're gettin' 'war paint' on me." Clay shook his head.

"Yeah, makeup's meant for girls and Jack." Raimundo added and the two 'dudes' fist bumped.

"I'm thinking blue for Raimundo." Kimiko started taking out her makeup supplies.

"And green for Clay, it'll make his eyes pop." Jack closed the nail polish bottle. "You might ruin your nails."

"We can redo them later." Kimiko chuckled and handed Jack some of the supplies.

"What are you two doing?" Raimundo asked, feeling uneasy by the large smiles on Jack's and Kimiko's faces.

"I don't like where this is goin'." Clay said.

"Makeover!" Jack and Kimiko yelled before leaping on top of Clay and Raimundo. All four ended up tipping the chairs over and left Kimiko and Jack sitting on top of the other monks.

"This works. Want to help us out Omi?" Jack asked the young monk.

"How can I be of assistance?" Omi asked.

"Go get the hair spray and gel from my room, they're on top of my dresser." Kimiko said.

"Yes, ma'am." Omi saluted before taking off.

"You are not putting that stuff in my hair." Raimundo started to get up but stopped when he saw Kimiko pouting her lower lip at him. "That's not fair." Kimiko continued with her pout. "Fine." Raimundo huffed and went back down.

"I will make the face too." Jack warned.

"That don't really work for me." Clay stated.

"Just take your punishment like a man, it's Jack, he'll find a way to get makeup on you." Raimundo said.

"I need to reconsider some life choices." Clay sighed.

"Don't worry, this won't hurt a bit." Jack winked and started going through the makeup. "Would mixing foundations work? I don't think we have either of their colors." Jack stated.

"I haven't tried that before, but the concealer should be fine for both of them." Kimiko said.

"Raimundo is darker than Clay." Jack pointed out.

"He'll just have a strong highlight." Kimiko giggled.

"A strong what?" Raimundo asked.

"What happened to 'taking your punishment like a man'?" Clay scoffed.

"I am taking it, I just want to know what they're doing to us." Raimundo flinched when Kimiko started dabbing makeup onto his face with an egg-shaped sponge.

"I don't wanna know." Clay muttered as Jack did the same to his face.

"I found the hair components you spoke of." Omi stated after returning to the room with the hair spray and gel.

"You can't say normal slang and yet you know what 'components' are? What are you on, man?" Jack said and grabbed some eyeshadow.

"Thank you, Omi." Kimiko said.

"Your skin looks very solid, Clay." Omi commented as he sat down between the two fallen monks, the makeup supplies in front of him.

"Do I even wanna know what he means by that?" Clay asked. Jack only shrugged and continued working.

"How long does this take?" Raimundo groaned.

"You can't rush perfection." Kimiko stated.

"I try to rush you all the time." There was a pause.

"Damn, that was smooth." Jack finally spoke.

"Aren't you sweet?" Kimiko gave Raimundo a quick peck.

"Gross." Clay chuckled.

"Get a room you two." Jack added.

"We try to, but you keep walking in." Raimundo scoffed while Kimiko applied some blush.

"Put a sock on the door or something. Me and Kimiko walk into each other's rooms all the time without knocking and it's a habit now." Jack stated.

"Does that mean if we see a cowboy hat on your door, we run away?" Raimundo laughed at Jack and Clay's facial reactions.

"Why would we run away from a hat on a door?" Omi asked while playing with a tube of lipstick. Everyone froze.

"Uh...you'll learn about it when you're older." Kimiko laughed weakly.

"Along with why you use those airplane stickers once a month?" Jack started laughing loudly at Omi's question, almost dropping makeup on top of Clay.

"Yes. Omi." Kimiko said between gritted teeth.

"Ah." Omi popped open the lipstick and was greeted with a bright red.

"How much more gunk do you have to put on me?" Clay asked.

"You need to be blended and then your lips." Jack answered.

"Blended?" Raimundo asked.

"It just makes everything look smooth." Kimiko answered as she and Jack grabbed poofy brushed and started blending in the makeup.

"When did you get green lipstick?" Jack chuckled.

"When I got this blue one." Kimiko giggled.

"Is there glitter in that?"

"Of course."

"Someone end my misery." Raimundo groaned.

"We're almost done." Kimiko sang and started applying the lipstick.

"This feels weird." Clay said.

"Don't talk or you'll get it all over your teeth." Jack flicked Clay's nose.

"There, you look beautiful." Kimiko got off of Raimundo and Jack did the same a moment later. "Now for the hair."

"Hair?" Clay and Raimundo grunted.

"This won't take long, we're just going to put it up." Kimiko handed Jack several ponytail holders. Raimundo and Clay sat up and grumbled while their hair was tied back, Raimundo's was a high ponytail while Clay had short pigtails.

"All done." Kimiko clapped her hands.

"I'm proud of our work." Jack chuckled.

"Pink for Kimiko and purple for Jack?" Raimundo said to Clay.

"Sounds good to me." Clay grinned.

"Oh no." Kimiko and Jack said together before getting tackled and receiving their own makeover.

"Did you use eyeliner to contour!?" Kimiko yelled when she looked at herself in the mirror.

"Too much blush, man." Jack groaned, seeing that he was a bright pink.

"My lip ends here." Kimiko pointed to her mouth.

"You used lip gloss on my eyes!?" Jack felt the goop on his eyelids.

"How did I do?" Omi smiled. The young monk had put on the bright red lipstick and had matching eyeshadow on as well.

"Amazing." Kimiko and the others started laughing. "I think this calls for a photo shoot." She took out her phone and pressed several buttons before setting it up. "Say cheese!"

The group took more pictures than intended, almost filling up Kimiko's phone memory and laughed at every picture they saw as they went through them. One was all of them staring blankly ahead, another had them all posing like magazine models, a different one had Omi in Clay's arms while Jack was on his back and Kimiko and Raimundo were hanging from his sides. One photo had Omi sitting on Clay's head, the next had him falling off and the third one had everyone looking down with worry.

"We're defiantly going to have to go shopping now." Jack laughed.

"We can do that after we get this disaster of a makeover off of us." Kimiko said.

"I think I look flawless." Jack put a hand under his chin and pouted his lips.

"You look like a five-year-old discovering makeup for the first time." Kimiko rolled her eyes

"It's the newest trend." Jack fluttered his eyelashes.

"Just go clean yourself, you doof." Kimiko chuckled. Jack winked before walking off to his room, knowing that there were makeup remover wipes in there somewhere.

"I am too pale for this." Jack said to himself, glancing at his mirror before looking down at his desk. His smile went away when he found a note.

 _A makeover? How cute. But you were right, there was defiantly too much blush._

"Is he watching..." Jack looked over his shoulder and was glad to see nothing there. "This isn't cute, this isn't funny, leave me alone! I'm with Clay, not you!"

Jack took the note and ripped it up. He was having fun, he was happy and he was going to go shopping with Kimiko and have a great time.


	10. Shopping Trip

"The blue one or the orange one?" Kimiko held two different dresses in front of her.

"Blue, the orange one just looks tacky." Jack answered, peeking over the rack of shirts he was going through.

"What does it even mean to look 'tacky'?" Raimundo asked Clay as the two held on to the clothes Jack and Kimiko were planning on buying.

"I'm from Texas, the only 'tacky' thing there is glue and I'm sure they ain't talkin' about the clothes being sticky." Clay stated.

"This is only the first store and my arms are already tired." Raimundo sighed.

"You're in for a long day, partner." Clay chuckled.

"And we've lost Omi." Raimundo looked around the store. "Omi!"

"I'm over here!" Omi called, a small green hat on his head.

"I know absolutely nothin' 'bout fashion, but I'm sure that's a no." Clay said.

"You're right, cowboy." Jack said and took the hat off of Omi's head. "Here, this one's better." Jack plopped a black sunhat on the young monk.

"Anything else you want to get here?" Kimiko asked, adding the blue dress to the pile in Raimundo's arms.

"I'm ready to move on." Jack said.

"I would like to purchase this hat please." Omi sat the hat Jack had given him on the counter in front of one of the female workers. The worker looked at the small monk for a moment before seeing Jack standing behind him, waving his credit card in the air a little and winking. The woman mouthed 'oh' and took the hat and scanned it.

"There you go, enjoy the rest of your day." Omi smiled brightly at the woman and took the bag that she had put his hat in and walked away to play with his new hat. "Little brother?" The worker asked as Jack walked up to the counter and Clay dropped his pile onto it.

"You could say that." Jack shrugged.

"Nice of you to take him out with your friends and your date." The woman sang the word 'date'.

"How did you know?" Jack said with fake shock, letting out a soft chuckle.

"I work in a mall, I can basically smell a relationship. Especially one as cute as you two."

"Did you hear that, Clay? We're cute."

"Gross." Raimundo said and 'oofed' when Kimiko elbowed his side.

"You're just jealous that we're cute." Jack said with a little shoulder shimmy.

"Don't make me lose my lunch." Raimundo sighed and ended up laughing a little after his comment.

"Aren't you guys just great friends?" The other worker, who was checking out Kimiko, said.

"We've been through a lot." Jack explained.

"Too much if you ask me." Raimundo said.

"Would you stop throwing shade over there?" Jack scoffed, handing the worker his card.

"Throwing what?"

"Kimi, explain to your thing what that means." Jack took his card back and walked away.

"What?" Kimiko only shrugged at Raimundo and walked away after paying as well.

"Have a great day." The coworkers said together as Clay and Raimundo grabbed the bags and left as well.

"Why is the store called 'Forever 21'?" Omi asked.

"I don't know, but we could open a store next to it called 'Feeling 22." Kimiko laughed at Jack's joke while Omi looked very confused.

"Where to next?" Clay asked, knowing that they were nowhere near done with their trip.

"Hot Topic." Kimiko and Jack said together and high-fived.

"That was scary." Raimundo commented as he followed the group.

"Very." Clay agreed. The two stopped when they reached the store and stared inside as Kimiko, and Jack looked around inside of the small and packed room.

The two stopped when they reached the store and stared inside as Kimiko and Jack looked around inside of the small, dark and packed room.

"Why are we not going in?" Omi asked.

"Uh..." The two said together.

"We're just gonna chill out here, you can go on in." Raimundo said.

"Yeah." Clay nodded his head. Omi blinked several times before shrugging and going in.

"Chickens." Jack said when he and Kimiko finished with the store and handed the two their bags. Omi had his own little Hot Topic bag as well.

"He liked some of the buttons." Kimiko explained before Raimundo could ask.

"We should take them to Spencer's." Jack chuckled while he and Kimiko continued on.

"I don't think they could handle that, they wouldn't even go into Hot Topic, let alone Spencer's." Kimiko giggled. "Plus I don't want Omi to go in there, there would be way too much of him asking what this or that means and do you really want to explain half of what's in that store is?"

"Good point. Let's just Rue." Jack suggested.

"I could use some new shoes from them." Kimiko nodded her head.

"Please tell me we're done after this one." Raimundo groaned.

"This is only the third store, we have the entire mall to go through." Kimiko stated.

"Here, get us some pretzels and meet us at the store." Jack handed Clay his card.

"Are you gonna take-" Jack and Kimiko were already walking away before Clay could finish his question.

"Omi can carry the pretzels." Raimundo said and went to the pretzel stand.

"The mall is weirdly empty today." Kimiko commented as she and Jack looked through some clothes.

"It's a weekday." Jack shrugged and grabbed two shirts that were the same except for the color. "I'm going to go try these on."

"Call if you need me." Kimiko said.

"'Kay." Jack had one of the workers unlock a dressing room for him and thanked the man before going in. Jack had slipped on the purple shirt and heard someone walk into the little dressing area and he assumed that it was Kimiko. "What do you think of this? I like the way it fits, but it is a little tight on the neck and I'm unsure of the color." Jack said as he opened the door, looking at himself in the mirror inside of the cubby as he spoke and using his hip to keep the door open. "I have the same shirt in black in there and I could try that on as well." Jack turned his head and felt his heart skip. Chase was sitting on the little bench were people waiting for their friend, child or partner to change.

"Hello, Spicer." Chase greeted. Jack quickly went back into his cubby and shut the door, knowing that it locked automatically. He let out a yelp when Chase suddenly appeared in front of him. "Did you really think that would work?" Chase chuckled.

"I didn't want to scream and get kicked out of one of my favorite stores." Jack admitted. "And you're a creep, you know."

"How's that?"

"First, you watch me and the others and leave that note and now you're stalking me at the mall, if you weren't an evil immortal warlord I would have called the cops on your ass by now." Jack huffed, moving as far away from Chase as possible.

"Note? I never left a note." Chase thought for a moment. "Wuya must have left it, she went out this morning, curious about you and she most likely left the note you speak of."

"You're still stalking me at the mall."

"Ending up in the same shopping center was pure coincidence. I was curious about this 'mall' Wuya has spoken of several times and decided to see it for myself. Imagine my surprise when I found you and those monks here as well. I bet it's thrilling to use that farm boy and circus fool as pack mules."

"Is that why you're not in your armor?" Jack asked, ignoring Chase's comment about Clay and Raimundo.

"Correct." Jack flinched when Chase pulled him close and made him turn around. "It's tight on your neck because of this knot, how you managed to get it over your head I'll never know." Chase said as he undid the string in the shirt and redid it looser.

"Thanks." Jack muttered.

"Nice to know that the monks at least taught you basic manners." Chase stated as he smoothed out Jack's shirt. "I like the purple, but the black would look great as well, I suggest getting both."

"Why do you keep bothering me?" Jack asked, looking at himself in the mirror.

"As I've said before, I want you." Chase placed his hands on Jack's shoulders.

"Why now? Why not when I was literally willing to do anything to get you to pay attention to me?"

"I've wanted you since you fell into my arms but didn't want to weaken myself by allowing you to get close and letting Bean have an advantage if he got you. So I pushed you away, insulted you, and hurt you because I didn't want to get hurt myself."

"Why are you willing to risk that now?" Jack felt Chase's thumbs slowly move against his shoulder blades.

"Guess you can say the final straw happened when I saw you with that farm boy."

"So you only want what you can't get."

"To some degree, yes." Chase admitted.

"Well, it's not going to happen. I'm happy with Clay and the others." Jack stated.

"Are you? When was the last time you got to work on one of you inventions or got to do something that you wanted to do on your own?"

"I..." Jack found himself speechless.

"They still don't trust you and they never will, not after everything that has happened. But you've been nothing but loyal to me so there's no need for me to distrust you." Chase went to give Jack's neck a kiss.

"Go away." Jack stepped forward and turned around. "I hate you."

"Is that so?" Chase grinned. "Then punch me. I won't try to stop you. Go ahead." Jack clenched his hands and faced the mirror again, hugging himself and curling up a little.

"Just go." Jack said weakly. "Please."

"I'll see you soon, Spicer." Chase said before walking out, the door clicking shut behind him.

"Why can't I hate him?" Jack asked himself as he pressed his forehead to the cold mirror.

"Jack? You alright? You're taking forever." Kimiko's voice came from behind the door a few moments later.

"Yeah, I'm just having a hard time deciding."

"Need some help?"

"No, I got this." Jack quickly changed back into his own shirt and left the changing room.

"Please tell me you're getting both of them, I think they're really cool." Kimiko said.

"Yep." Jack flashed Kimiko a smile.

"Clay, Omi and Raimundo are waiting outside the shop with our pretzels when we're done." Kimiko handed Jack a shirt. "And I think you'll like this."

"Are you trying to tell me something?" Jack laughed at the shirt that read 'messy hair, don't care'.

"Maybe." Kimiko giggled.

"I'll get it if you get one too."

"Already did." The two chuckled and finished up with their shopping at Rue. They ate their pretzels and continued with their shopping trip.

"Last store." Kimiko announced as they walked into a large store.

"Finally." Raimundo sighed. "I feel like my arms are going to fall off."

"Least we can tell Master Fung we got a workout today." Clay chuckled. He stopped when he saw a black bracelet with a gold piece on it. Clay grabbed the bracelet and caught up to the group. "I'll be right back." Clay placed the bags he was carrying next to Raimundo, who found himself a bench inside of the store to sit on, and took off.

"Light or dark brown?" Jack asked Kimiko as he looked at the boots display.

"Light." Kimiko answered. "And Clay would like those the best." She added as she pointed at a pair of boots.

"How do you know that I didn't want them for myself?"

"Because you don't wear cowboy boots, Jack." Kimiko stated.

"I could be pulling a you and be randomly changing my entire style for a day."

"Don't mock me."

"I would never."

"Just get the boots and let's go."

"Yes, ma'am."

After finally finishing their long trip at the mall, the group went back to the temple. By the time Kimiko and Jack got everything they bought put away, it was very late into the evening. The group ate a very simple dinner and separated for the night. Jack took Clay to his room and gave him the boots he had bought for him and was shocked when Clay handed him a gift of his own.

"You got me something?" Jack asked as he pulled out the bracelet.

"Figured you'd like it." Clay shrugged.

"To infinity and beyond." Jack chuckled, seeing that the 'infinity' was the actual symbol instead of the word. "You dork."

"Do you not like it?" Clay said with some worry.

"I love it." Jack kissed Clay's cheek.

"Th-Thanks. Uh...goodnight." Clay was about to leave.

"How about we turn that 'goodnight' into a 'good morning' when we're done?" Jack said with a smirk.

"Done? I thought we were?" Jack chuckled before taking Clay's hat, hanging it on his doorknob and shutting the door.


	11. He Said It

Jack sat at the table, eating a bowl of cereal while the monks finished up their morning training. He waved a 'hello' with his spoon when Kimiko joined him. She sat her plate of food down on the table and leaned against both hands towards Jack.

"Yes?" Jack asked after swallowing.

"I saw the hat." Kimiko giggled.

"Oh..."

"So you two-"

"No." Kimiko straightened up. "We made out and had some...fun, but we didn't..." Jack cleared his throat and put a spoonful of cereal into his mouth.

"It's alright Jack, there's no need to feel bad about not being ready." Kimiko said kindly. "Raimundo and I haven't-"

"Clay stopped it, not me." Jack interrupted. "I was ready. He wasn't. End of conversation." There was tense silence for a moment. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound like I was mad at you, I'm not. I'm just a little annoyed at the moment."

"I know. I just don't know what to say." Kimiko admitted. "Cute bracelet." She said after another pause.

"Clay got it for me."

"How sweet of him."

"Can we please stop talking about him?" Jack sighed, dropping his spoon and putting his hands on his head.

"Dude, we're young, don't fret about not rushing things." Raimundo's voice carried from down the hall.

"Great." Jack muttered.

"Mornin' Kimiko, Jack." Clay greeted as he and Raimundo sat down at the table with their own food.

"Morning." Kimiko said with a smile while Jack simply hummed.

"Jack-"

"There's a Wu!" Omi announced, cutting Clay off as he and Dojo rushed into the room. Jack got up and went to get his Wu-bot, not even listening to what the Wu they were searching for was called. He came back out in time to leave with the monks and stayed in the back of the group as they got on Dojo and took off.

"Another forest?" Raimundo groaned as Dojo landed and they climbed off of the dragon.

"Would you rather be in the arctic?" Kimiko asked.

"I love the forest! I hope the Wu are always in the forest!" Raimundo announced loudly as they walked off.

"Come on Wu-bot, work for me girl." Jack sighed as he tried to get his invention to work.

"You still angry 'bout last night?" Clay asked, after having the other monks get ahead by a fair distance.

"If you want the honest truth, I'm not really angry. I'm a little flustered and pissy about it, but I'm a dude, it happens. Just let me be an asshole for a little while longer and everything will be back to normal." Jack let out a huff. "I'm angry at the moment because Wu-bot won't work for some reason." He pressed the button one more time and Wu-bot took off in the opposite direction. "Great! She's glitching!"

"Want me to come with you?"

"No, go ahead and get the Wu, the alone time will probably help me get over my pissy-ness." Jack waved a hand and went after his machine. "Wu-bot!" He called. "This is why I am never letting Raimundo anywhere near any of my inventions ever again." Jack cursed at a bush and moved a branch aside, stopping when he saw the reason why Wu-bot took off.

"Hello, Spicer." Chase greeted with a smirk, holding up the Golden Tiger Claws that Wu-bot was struggling to get from him. So that's where they went. Jack thought to himself before he snapped his fingers and turned around, ready to run off, but ended up tripping over a root like the graceful person he was. Wu-bot flew over to him and floated above the young man while Chase went over to him as well.

"Ow, that hurt." Jack groaned, holding his ankle. "Clay!"

"Please refrain from screaming, it bothers my ears." Chase sighed and started helping Jack up.

"I don't need you to help me." Jack jerked his body away and fell right back over. "I can..." Jack let out a hiss of pain when he attempted to get up on his own.

"Stop being stubborn." Chase said and lifted Jack up, wrapping the young man's arm around his shoulders and holding him up so he had no weight on his injured leg. "Why do you reek of that farm boy?"

"It's none of your business." Jack muttered.

"There's also another scent, it's been there for a good while, phero-"

"Stop smelling me!" Jack snapped.

"Did you and that farm boy-"

"No! No, we did not! We were going to, but he said no! Would everyone and their mother stop bothering me about it!?" Jack huffed out some air. "Don't laugh at me!" He yelled when he heard Chase chuckling a little.

"I find it amusing that the farm boy would deny you, it's shocking."

"For the last time, his name is Clay and it's not that shocking someone would tell me no." Jack muttered, flinching a little when Chase put a hand on his waist so he could get a better hold as the two walked.

"To me it is. With how unique your body is, how could anyone not want the chance to have it beneath them? To do as they please with it?" Chase's hand started rubbing Jack's side.

"You're making this walk very awkward." Jack said, staring ahead.

"I guess you can stay that's the point of my comments." Chase stopped several feet behind the monks who were now looking at the new Wu. "Webbing Brush. It's very similar to the Tangle Web Comb, but instead of vines, it's spider webbing."

"Gross." Jack said as Chase leaned his against a tree. "And very uncreative."

"Now, before I leave." Jack gasped when Chase pressed him against the tree and slammed a kiss against his lips. Jack felt all of the heat in his body travel to his face as the kiss quickly grew intense before Chase parted and whispered into his ear. "Allow this information to sink in while you continue your little game, I'll never say no." Chase released Jack and walked away.

"That's not fair, that is so not fair." Jack groaned as he took a moment to gather himself. "You were watching, weren't you?" He accused Wu-bot, the little machine only continued buzzing as she floated beside him. "Perv." Jack said before straightening himself up a little. "Hey, Clay?" He called out.

"Jack?" Clay turned around a peeked through the branches. "Jack, what are you doin'?"

"I fell and I think I hurt my ankle." Jack answered, hoping that his face was no longer red.

"I'm comin'." Clay pushed through the branches. "Next time I'm comin' with ya." Clay stated after scooping Jack up.

"Please." Jack said softly.

x~x~x

Jack finished drying off his hands and opened the bathroom door with his back, he was softly humming to himself as he limped out, his wrapped up ankle still a bother to him several days after twisting it, it no longer hurt that bad, but putting all of his weight on it still wasn't pleasant.

"Hey." Jack yelped when he heard the voice and turned around, flailing his arms and hitting the person in the face. "Ow! Jack!"

"Shit, Clay! I'm sorry, you're voice sounded different and I thought you were someone else!" Jack panicked as Clay held his nose.

"You're fine, I just wasn't ready for ya to hit me like that." Clay said and moved his hand back. "And I'm bleedin'."

"Did I hit you that hard!? I'm so sorry!" Jack stumbled back into the bathroom and grabbed some toilet paper. "I'm so-"

"Calm down Jack, I already told you, you're fine." Clay took the toilet paper. "The bleeding's already slowin' down."

"You need to lay down or stay up or I don't know." Jack started pushing Clay towards his room, awkwardly thumping behind him.

"I'm fine." Clay chuckled, allowing Jack to take him to his room and sit him down on his bed.

"You're hurt, I'm going to go ask Kimiko what to-" Jack stopped when Clay grabbed him and forced him down to sit on his lap.

"You're the one hurt here." Clay said and cleaned off his nose. "Look, all done, but you're still limping like a-"

"No, no more farm boy metaphors." Jack groaned, leaning back against Clay.

"I thought you liked my metaphors?" Clay said.

"I'll admit some of them are amusing, but you say them so many times that I've started doing it."

"When?"

"When me and Kimiko were talking about how clueless Raimundo can be."

"Like how's he's more clueless than a turkey during Thanksgiving?"

"That's the exact one that I used!" Jack plopped himself to the side and left his legs on Clay's. "I'm slowly becoming an albino cowboy! Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds!?"

"I'd think it'd be fun to see you in big brown boots and a ten-gallon hat." Clay chuckled.

"You mean like this?" Jack sat up and took Clay's hat, putting it on his own head. "I look stupid."

"I think you look great." Clay said, leaning forward a little.

"Just kiss me you doof." Jack let out a little laugh when Clay pushed him back and straddled him.

"Yes, sir." Clay chuckled before kissing the smaller man.

Jack lost himself in the moment before he heard three words softly spoken, barely even a whisper.

"I love you."

Jack screamed internally; _'No, no, no, no! Don't do that! Don't say that! Don't do this to me!'_ Jack waited to see what Clay would do, but the cowboy just kept kissing him. He didn't mean to actually say those words. They just slipped out and he didn't even realize it. Jack was sure he would vomit at the moment with how tight his stomach was getting. Jack pushed Clay away and started climbing out of the bed.

"Coming!" He called. Jack quickly fumbled out of the room before Clay could say anything.

"Jack are you okay?" Kimiko asked, seeing the young man rush to her.

"We need to talk, alone, now." Jack said, eyes wide.

"I'll be back." Kimiko said to Omi and Raimundo before following Jack to her bedroom. "What's wrong?"

"Clay said that he loved me!" Jack practically yelled.

"What!?"

"I mean, we were kissing and it slipped out, but he said it! What do I do!?"

"Did you say anything back?"

"No. I pretend like someone was calling for me and left." Jack was on the verge of tears.

"Do you love him?"

"I don't know! And I feel like an asshole for not knowing!"

"Is it cause of Chase?" Kimiko asked quietly.

"Maybe."

"Jack!"

"I can't help it, okay!? I can't control what is happening to me!"

"Why can't you accept that Clay really likes you, hell, he even said that he loves you and you keep fawning over Chase, who will never give you the time of day!?" Kimiko yelled.

"Why do you keep pushing me and Clay together!?" Jack snapped.

"Because I just want you to be happy!" Kimiko cried. "Why are you treating me like the bad guy when I just want you to be safe!?"

"Safe!? You only want me to be safe!? Don't you care about how I feel!?"

"Of course, I do! You have to somewhat like Clay in order to be with him, to kiss him, to want to sleep with him! I just don't want you to make a huge mistake and run away from someone because you're scared of getting hurt! But instead you go after someone who you know is going to hurt you so you don't have to worry about it happening because you know it will!"

"I don't need this! I thought you were going to help me, but instead, you act like a total bitch!" Jack was about to storm out, but Kimiko stopped him by hugging him from behind.

"I'm sorry. Please, don't leave. You're just a great friend, I can't talk to any of the others like I can to you and...and I don't want to lose you." Jack could feel that Kimiko was crying.

"Kimi..." Jack sighed and faced his friend so he could hug her back. "Can we just leave this behind us?"

"Yeah, but what about Clay?" Kimiko sniffed, releasing Jack.

"I'll figure that out on my own, he didn't even know that he said it, so I'll just keep going like he didn't."

"Are you sure you can?"

"I've dealt with worse my entire life and look how I've turned out." Jack smiled and held his arms out.

"That doesn't give me much faith, Jack."

"I got this."

"Alright, oh and Jack?"

"Yes?"

"Tell anyone about what I said or that I cried and I will set you on fire."

"I wouldn't expect anything less."


	12. Mood Killer

"Check it out!" Jack laughed, hoping around on his foot, showing that it was no longer in pain. "No more awkward limping or that stupid wrap." Jack continued hoping around until he lost his balance and landed on a laughing Clay who was sitting on the couch in the makeshift living room. "I'm healed."

"I see." Clay chuckled.

"Let's go do something!" Jack jumped to his feet and faced Clay."Like go for a hike or a Wu hunt or rob a bank!" Jack yelped when Clay grabbed him and pulled him down, forcing him to straddle his lap.

"What was that last one?" Clay asked, tilting his hat back.

"Old habits die hard." Jack shrugged.

"When did you ever rob a bank? Ain't you filthy rich?" Clay asked.

"I'd rob a bank to get your attention." Jack chuckled.

"No need for that." Clay said before the two kissed.

Jack adjusted himself so he was right on top of Clay and leaned forward so their chests were pressed together. He moved his hands to Clay's shoulders and gently moved his hips against the other man's. The young genius was shocked when Clay grabbed his hips, held him down and started moving with him. Jack gasped a little and dug his nails into Clay's shoulders, throwing his head back to let out a low moan when a wave of pleasure traveled down his spine. Clay looped a finger into the top of Jack's shirt, yanked him towards him and started nipping at his neck while putting his hand back on Jack's hip and rolled his own. Jack slowly ran his hands down Clay's chest and bit his ear, feeling his stomach tighten when he heard the soft groan come from Clay. Jack started breathing heavier and could feel that Clay was doing the same against his collar bone and their movements were getting more erratic.

"What are you two doing?" Omi asked, breaking the trance Clay and Jack were in.

"Shit!" Jack leaped off of Clay and curled up in the corner of the couch while Clay placed a pillow in his lap.

"H-Hey, Omi. What's up, little buddy?" Clay greeted.

"I'm going to die!" Jack whined, covering his bright red face with his arms.

"What were you two doing?" Omi repeated. "Was it some sort of secret training method?"

"I can't. I can't live anymore." Jack slowly started sliding off of the couch.

"We...we were...uh..." Clay cleared his throat. "It's a trainin' method that is taught to older monks."

"Oh! When do I get to learn this method? Will Master Fung show me?" Omi asked.

"Nope! Nope, nope, nope, nope!" Jack screeched out, laughing loudly.

"I-It's somethin' that you learn over time." Clay put a hand over his mouth to hold back his own laugh as Jack continued yelling from the floor.

"Do I have to have a partner to do it or can I do it on my own?" Omi looked at Jack when the young man let out another shout, eyes watering from laughing so hard. "Am I missing something?"

"Jack's just havin' a moment." Clay tried to say with a straight face but ended up laughing a little himself.

"I'm just going to leave now." Omi pointed away from himself and walked in that direction.

"I...I can't breathe!" Jack gasped out. "I can't believe that happened!"

"I'm never gonna be able to look at him again." Clay groaned, putting his hands over his face.

"That was the literal definition of a mood killer." Jack finally got off of the ground. He smirked a little, placed his hands on the pillow that was resting on Clay's lap and leaned forward. "But, we could always go to your room and finish what we started?"

"You're right about it bein' a mood killer." Clay got up and Jack stepped out of his way. "I'm gonna go run or somethin'." Jack watched Clay walk out of the room before dropping onto the couch, letting out a loud groan of annoyance into the cushion. Jack huffed and turned himself over and stared at the ceiling.

"Now I'm bored." He stated. "Wonder if Kimiko's doing anything."

"She is currently out with the circus fool and Omi." Jack screeched with fear and flailed off of the couch when Chase answered his question. "Why is it that you keep falling when I'm around?"

"What the hell are you doing here!?" Jack snapped. "Master Fung is here and I will-" Jack was cut off when Chase grabbed him and slammed a heated kiss against his lips.

"You strongly smell of hormones and it's driving me mad." Chase said before pressing another kiss on Jack. "You still reek of that cowboy, but I can easily mask that scent with my own."

"Get off." Jack jerked his body back and started walking away from Chase. "The reason I 'reek' of Clay is because he's my boyfriend and were making out on the couch not too long ago." Jack went around said couch so it was between him and Chase. "Hear that? Clay is my boyfriend, not you."

"Do you even have feelings for this farm boy? Or are you claiming that so you have a reason to stay here?" Chase asked, crossing his arms as he spoke.

"I was just kissing him, very intensely. Obviously, there are some feelings there."

"Lustful feelings and actual feelings are two completely different things. Being in lust with someone is nothing like being in love." Chase started walking around the couch as Jack stood still, frozen as the words ran through his mind. "Do you only have lustful feelings towards me?" Jack didn't answer. "If that was the answer, then you can easily just run away from me without looking back and go to your little farm boy, but wait, he's too shy to do that, isn't he?" Chase was now standing behind Jack. Jack stared down at the couch and saw Chase's hands resting on either side of him on the couch as well. "Right now, he's out running with the other monks, his friends, while you stay in here, alone and bored. What kind of a 'boyfriend' does that?"

"I-I'm happy, here." Jack stuttered out.

"Are you? Or do you just keep telling yourself that because you fear of failing at being on the side of evil again?" Jack swallowed, feeling Chase's chest on his back as the warlord started speaking softly into his ear. "Now, tell me this, Spicer. When you kiss Clay, who are you really thinking of? Who's hands are on your hips? Who's teeth are biting your lips? Who's tongue is exploring your mouth and who's body are you pressed against?" Jack knew the answer but didn't want to admit it out loud. "I knew it."

"Leave me alone!" Jack cried, pushed Chase off of him and started walking away. "I'm with Clay and...and..." Jack stopped. And what?

"That wouldn't be a problem if you left him and went with me." Jack turned around and wanted to scream at Chase, he didn't know what it was going to be, but he was going to at the top of his lungs but Chase was gone.

"Why are you making me do this?" Jack asked the empty air. "Why are you making me choose?"


	13. Run Away

Jack couldn't help himself from smiling a little at Omi's expression when he caught the baseball he had thrown to him. The young monk's expression was filled with intense focus and determination as he tossed the ball back into Jack's glove and by Jack's, it was actually Clay's. Jack chucked the ball as hard as he could towards Omi and scoffed when the boy caught it with ease, he glanced over at Clay and Raimundo when he got the ball back and watched the two spar for a moment. Raimundo was blocking several punches from Clay and Jack could tell that Clay was giving nowhere near his all and was worried about hurting his friend.

"My boyfriend's a softie." Jack chuckled, throwing the ball back to Omi. Kimiko giggled a little as she painted her nails, having gotten sick of the red already and wanting to try something new.

"Not a complete softie from what I've heard." Kimiko sang.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jack asked, holding on to the ball for a moment after catching it.

"Omi told me that you two were partaking in a 'secret training method' that only older monks knew and he asked me and Raimundo if we do that too." Kimiko said. Jack let out a groan and rolled the ball towards Omi, knowing that the young monk would like the change.

"He walked in on me and Clay making out in the living room and that was our explanation apparently." Jack bent down to scoop up the rolling ball. "Clay did most of the talking, I was too busy yelling from the floor."

"Yelling from the floor?" Kimiko watched the ball leave Jack's hand when she looked up from her nails.

"He kept asking questions and I had fallen over at that point, so I kept laughing while Clay tried not to literally explode from embarrassment." Jack explained.

"I bet that was a thrill." Kimiko chuckled.

"It was something." Jack tossed the ball high into the air, making Omi run to it.

"Is that why Clay suddenly came out and started running?"

"Yep." Jack bent backward a little to catch the high-up toss from Omi.

"What do you think of this green?" Kimiko asked, showing Jack her nails.

"Honestly, it reminds me of goo from the Swamp Monster." Jack shrugged.

"And you've forever ruined this color for me." Kimiko sighed and started wiping it off.

"I didn't say it looked bad on you." Jack chuckled.

"It's too late, I'm just going to paint them black and go on with my day." Kimiko huffed.

"Nothing wrong with black, it's basically my entire wardrobe." Jack slipped off the glove and waved his hand, showing Omi that he was done playing. Omi seemed a little disappointed but looked over at Raimundo and Clay and perked up, running over to the two and joining them.

"You got that purple shirt, how come you haven't worn it yet?" Kimiko asked.

"Like you've worn everything you bought on that trip." Jack scoffed.

"I change my outfit like five times a day." Kimiko ended up laughing after her comment because of the look Jack gave her.

"Exaggerating much?" Jack popped his lips before laughing as well.

"I'm glad to see that fog you were in earlier is gone." Kimiko said when they calmed down a little. "What was that about anyways?"

"I..." Jack looked over at Clay and all of Chase's words ran through his mind. "My stomach just was hurting a little, but I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah..."

x~x~x

"Why are you being so stubborn?" Jack asked his eyeliner as he attempted to clean it off for the night.

"Are you askin' me, yourself or your makeup?" Clay chuckled, leaning against the wall near Jack's desk.

"All of the above." Jack let out a huff and dropped the makeup wipe on his desk. "Now I look like I belong to a family of raccoons."

"Why do you keep wearin' that stuff if it's so annoyin' to take off?" Clay asked.

"Why do you keep wearing those boots when they take even longer to remove than my warpaint?" Jack asked back.

"Would you quit callin' it warpaint?" Clay sighed.

"What's wrong with me calling it warpaint? That's what it is and even Omi calls it that." Jack took out a new wipe and continued cleaning his face.

"It's makeup, that's what you girls wear." Clay shrugged, not realizing what he had said.

"Girls?" Jack glared over at the cowboy.

"I didn't mean it like that." Clay uncrossed his arms and held them out.

"Wearing makeup doesn't make me a girl. Liking to shop doesn't make me a girl. You know that I'm not a girl, you've felt it!" Jack started shouting.

"Can we not discuss that so loudly?" Clay said in a whisper.

"Look at who's acting like the girl!?" Jack's face was now clean and he threw the wipe at his mirror. "You act like some big, tough cowboy but the mention of sex makes you run away and yet you had no problem dry-fucking me earlier today!"

"If not wantin' to rush havin' sex makes me a gal, then let's do it now and get it over with!" Clay snapped, his volume rising as well.

"I don't even want you near me, let alone have sex!"

"Why are you so angry!?"

"You called me a girl!"

"I didn't mean to, I'm sorry!" Clay took in a deep breath. "Let's just move on and forget about it."

"It's more than just you calling me a girl, Clay!" Jack was not going to be calming down anytime soon. Everything was rushing through his mind. Chase's words echoed in his head and it made him question every thought he's ever had when he was with Clay.

"Then what is it?"

"Everything! Nothing! I don't know!"

"Then quit shoutin' at me if you don't even know why you're shoutin'."

"I wish it was that simple!"

"I wish you could be simple! Everythin' about you is confusin' as all heck and I can barely understand what your deal is most of the time!"

"What my deal is? You wanna know what my 'deal' is!? Why don't any of you trust me!?"

"We do trust you!"

"Bullshit! Why is my room on the opposite side of the Wu!? Why can I never work on my inventions alone!? Wu-bot is still fucked up because I haven't been able to work on her since someone magically always needs me till I'm too tired to think!"

"You're gettin' upset over nothin'!"

"Then can I get upset over Raimundo secretly watching me every time I'm with Kimiko!? Or that Omi looks like he's ready for me to attack him at any moment, even when we're playing catch he looks like he's ready for war! And how you can never seem to fully relax when I'm around and have no problem with playing around for a bit and leaving me with the biggest set of blue balls in all of China!"

"Would you quit bein' such a worm and listen to me!?" Clay stopped when he saw the hurt in Jack's eyes after his insult. "Jack, wait."

"Out of all the things you could have called me. You called me that." Jack went over to the door.

"I didn't-"

"What kind of a boyfriend would call their partner that!?" Jack threw open the door.

"Jack!"

"Fuck off Clay." Jack slammed the door and stormed down the hall. He stopped for a brief moment when he realized what he had said. What kind of a boyfriend is that? Jack clenched his hands and started running.

"Jack? Jack, where are you going? Jack!" Kimiko called after the young Genius.

Jack grabbed his heli-pack and took off, ignoring the shouts behind him. He was filled with nothing but anger and hurt and his mind was fogged as he landed at the entrance of Chase's lair. Jack threw off his heli-pack, went past Wuya and started going up the steps to the second layer of Chase's home.

"Jack, what are you doing?" Wuya asked, feeling the anger seep off of the young man.

"Chase!" Jack shouted, reaching the top of the stairs. "Chase, come out!"

"Yes, Spicer?" Chase said as he slowly walked over to Jack. "How many I be of assistance?" He added with a light grin, having known that Jack was here already and could smell all of the adrenaline rushing through the genius' body. "Do you need-" Chase was cut off by Jack grabbing the top of his armor and yanking him down into a rough kiss. Chase held on to Jack with an arm and had a large smirk on his face as he snapped his fingers and the two disappeared, leaving a very stunned Wuya where she stood.


	14. Mistake

Jack woke up with his eyes still closed and could feel that something was different. These didn't feel like his normal sheets and the mattress was a lot plusher than he recalled as well. Even the scent of everything was off. He moved around a little and discovered that his body was bare. Did he get hot last night or something? Jack slowly opened his eyes and was suddenly wide awake when he realized that he wasn't in his room or any other room in the temple. He sat up and had to slap a hand over his mouth when he learned that he wasn't in the bed alone. Chase was asleep on the other end and the blanket was not on him, showing Jack that the warlord was bare as well.

"No...I..." Jack started to shake a little, remembering everything.

He couldn't believe that this happened. One little argument and he runs off and does _this_. He was still technically with Clay. Jack slowly crawled out of the bed and went into the washroom that was connected to Chase's main chamber. Jack scrubbed at his body until he felt like he removed all of his skin. What was once pure white was now a bright red as he attempted to wash away any trace of what he and Chase did. To wash off every touch of Chase's hands, every kiss, lick, and bite. To wash away the feeling of the other man being inside of him, of the pleasure he was given, of the words he now regretted speaking. Jack was now fully dressed and was leaving the room when he heard Chase speak.

Jack was now fully dressed and was leaving the room when he heard Chase speak.

"Heading off so soon, Spicer?" Jack wished he hadn't turned around to see Chase sitting up in the bed, his hair tussled, body glistening from last night's sweat and broad shoulders still healing from the clawing Jack gave them.

"This was a mistake." Jack said, voice soft and weak.

"It didn't feel like a mistake to me." Chase ran a hand over the marks on his shoulder.

"I shouldn't have come here. I am now the worst type of person that there is."

"What kind of person would that be?"

"A cheater." Jack turned away and left, hugging himself as he heard Chase chuckle behind him.

How could he do this to Clay? After everything that he has done for him, he betrays him like this. Maybe they had a reason to not trust him, he wouldn't even trust himself at this point. He took the one thing he was supposed to be saving for Clay and gave it to Chase like it was nothing at all.

Jack picked up his heli-pack and slipped it on, no longer having the energy to do anything.

"I hope you had a fun time with Chase." Wuya said from the step she sat on. "It sounded like you did." Jack wanted to say something, anything to defend himself but knew that there was nothing he could say to change what was done.

Jack walked out of the lair, turned on his heli-pack and flew back to the temple, his body still burning with shame. He trudged through the entrance and made his way through the halls and towards his room. Omi saw him and was about to speak to him when Kimiko and Raimundo held him back and told him to wait. Jack didn't see Clay at all and was thankful for that, he wasn't ready to face the cowboy yet since he didn't know if he could control his emotions at all right now.

The young genius plopped down on the bed and stayed there for the rest of the day, sleeping for most of it. Kimiko came in at one point with some food and tried to get Jack to talk to her, but Jack didn't even move. Kimiko eventually gave up and told Jack that everything was okay before leaving. Dojo even visited Jack to make sure that the young man was fine and went back to Master Fung, telling him that he was just sad, no serious injuries, but he did look like he got burnt by something since his arms were bright red.

Jack woke up in the middle of the night when he felt a presence in his room and if it was Chase he didn't know whether to cry or scream, but he saw Clay standing at his door when he opened his eyes. Clay was awkwardly leaning against the frame and was staring at the floor while Jack sat up, one arm crossing his chest as he held onto a shoulder.

"Where'd ya go?" Clay finally spoke after a long silence between the two.

"I went home." Jack lied. "I decided to visit my parents."

"Did you get a sunburn or somethin' while you were out?" Clay asked. "Dojo said that your arms were really red."

"My skin reacted to a new soap my mom got, being an albino and all gives you sensitive skin." Jack shrugged.

"I'm happy that none of our stuff causes you to break out." Clay chewed on the inside of his lip.

"Yeah...same here." Jack moved so that he was sitting on his rear. "Come sit with me." He said, gesturing the empty part of the bed. Clay hesitated for a moment before taking the offer. "What? No Texas themed PJ's?" Jack laughed weakly.

"Don't you usually wear footie pajamas?" Clay chuckled.

"Not very manly." Jack said.

"Jack, I'm sorry for what I said; 'bout callin' you a girl, I mean, who cares if you wear your war paint? It's who you are and callin' you a worm? I can't believe I did that, I'm such an idiot." Clay looked over at Jack when the young genius' put his hand on top of his.

"It's okay. There's no need to apologize, I'm the one who over-reacted."

"No, no you didn't. If I was you, I'd done the same."

"You wouldn't have, trust me, you're a lot better of a person than I am."

"I wouldn't have said those things if I were. I would-" Clay stopped when Jack put a hand on his cheek and kissed him gently.

"Stop talking. I don't want to argue anymore, I just want you near me...I need you." Jack didn't say what all he needed. He needed to have Clay make him forget about Chase, to forget about what he's done. He needed Clay to give him to reason to stay, to show him that he didn't need Chase for anything. He needed someone to make him feel better. He needed a way to make his mind stop racing, to make his heart stop aching and to make him drift off into a fog of bliss. He needed help.

"Are you sure about this?" Clay asked as Jack slowly laid back down and pulled him on top of him.

"Please." Jack said, feeling a tear escape from his eye.

"You're crying." Clay brushed the tear away.

"It's my first time, I'm afraid that it'll hurt." Jack's breath shook a little, he was lying straight through his teeth.

"It's okay, it's my first too, so we'll take this slow together." Clay softly kissed Jack and started trailing them down the genius' neck. Jack's lower lip trembled and he squeezed his eyes shut, why did he have to say that? "Don't worry, everything will be fine."

Jack didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve to live in the temple. He didn't deserve to have Kimiko as a friend. He didn't deserve to have Clay. He didn't deserve any of this. But he wanted it. He needed it. And when he felt Clay's hand travel along his body, he shut his brain down and allowed this to happen.


	15. Black Wedding

"Morning!" Jack sang loudly as he entered the room.

"Isn't someone just chipper today?" Kimiko giggled from her seat, Omi and Raimundo were there eating breakfast as well.

"What got you out of your funk?" Raimundo asked.

"Something happened last night." Jack sang some more and hugged Kimiko from behind. "And you were right Raimundo, things are bigger in Texas." Raimundo started choking on his food while Kimiko laughed, Omi was just confused.

"You two..." Raimundo let his question trail off, not needing to say the actual words.

"Yep." Jack popped the 'p' in the word before sitting down next to Kimiko.

"Explains why Clay missed morning training, we thought he was still upset about your guys' fight." Kimiko said. "But it seems like you two kissed and made up."

"They did a lot more than just kiss." Raimundo muttered.

"I don't even want to know this time." Omi stated as he hopped out of his seat and left the room, taking his empty plate with him.

"So where's Clay?" Kimiko asked as Jack took a grape from her plate and popped it into his mouth.

"He's in his room getting dressed, he should be here about-" Jack held out the word. "-now." He finished when Clay walked in.

"Mornin'." Clay greeted. "What's with the faces?"

"Jack told us that you took him for a ride." Raimundo said.

"I took him for a..." It took Clay a moment to catch the innuendo. "You told them!?"

"Not in those exact words." Jack hugged a leg and leaned against Kimiko. Clay let out a groan and covered his face with his hands.

"Are you blushing?" Raimundo asked.

"He's blushing!" Kimiko giggled.

"He was redder than that last night." Jack chuckled.

"Jack!" The monks snapped.

"Oops, I ruined the moment." Jack laughed and shrugged.

"I'm gonna go grab some food, you want anythin'?" Clay asked Jack.

"Whatever it is that you eat that gives you all of that endurance." Jack said with a large smirk.

"Would you stop that!?" Clay shouted with embarrassment before leaving.

"Could you not break my friend, please?" Raimundo sighed.

"He tried to break me first." Jack grinned and Kimiko ended up throwing her head back as she laughed loudly.

"Nope. I'm done. I'm out. Lost my appetite. Goodbye." Raimundo held one hand up in the air as he left with his plate.

"So, can I be the maid of honor at your wedding?" Kimiko asked when she knew Raimundo was gone.

"Honey, you can be whatever the hell you want." Jack chuckled. "I already know the color. Black."

"You can't have a black wedding!"

"Tell Jermaine that if he ever gets married."

"You know what I mean!" Kimiko lightly started slapping Jack's arm.

"I was thinking of a Masquerade type wedding."

"The colors can be silver and purple."

"And everyone wears masks."

"And you guys remove each other's right before the kiss after saying 'I do'." Kimiko and Jack squealed together.

"I don't wanna know what y'all are talkin 'bout." Clay said as he sat a plate of food in front of Jack. "I have to run to the pantry, I'll be right back." He added before leaving.

Clay opened the door to the room where their food supply was held. He hummed to himself as he searched for the flour, they really needed to sort this stuff out. Clay just wanted some waffles and it was taking way too long to find what he needed.

"Looking for this?" Clay jumped back and held his hands in front of him in tight fists and ready to fight. He found Wuya holding a small sack of flour and the witch let out a soft laugh at his unconscious movement.

"I don't usually fight ladies, but get closer to me and I'll have to change that." Clay warned.

"I'm not here to fight, cowboy." Wuya tossed the flour at Clay.

"What do ya want then?" Clay asked, catching the sack and placing it down on the shelf next to him.

"You and Jack, you're together, aren't you?" Wuya tapped a finger to her lips.

"What's that to you?"

"Where did Jack say he went two nights ago?" Wuya lowered herself to a small chest, crossing her legs and leaning back on her hands.

"He went home like you should be." Clay stated.

"Are you sure about that?" Wuya tilted her head to the side.

"If you don't tell me why you're here, I'm gettin' the others and-"

"When was the last time you saw Chase Young?"

"When are ya gonna stop askin' questions?"

"I'll stop asking questions as soon as you start answering." Wuya said.

"Fine. It's been a while, alright? When he showed up to the temple and tried to convince Jack to leave with him." Clay crossed his arms. Why was he even talking to this witch?

"Was that the last time Jack saw him?"

"Yeah."

"Really now?" Clay lowered his arms, what was Wuya hinting at? "How much do you really trust this boy?" Wuya stood back up, seeing Clay slump a little. "How much do you really know about him?"

"I..."

"It looks like you've fallen for him, poor fool." Wuya started slowly walking over to Clay. "Jack is evil, no matter how much he fails at it, he is and there's no changing him."

"You're wrong. Jack's one of us now." Clay shook his head.

"Is he now? You honestly believe that if you give him a few kisses or even sleep with him, that he'll change who he has been since the day he was born? His own grandmother knew he was evil and gave him that heli-pack he's always flying around in." Wuya saw Clay's reaction to that information. "Didn't you know that?"

"No." Clay admitted.

"See? Jack doesn't tell you everything, I'm surprised that he's told you anything about himself." Wuya started moving in a circle around Clay. "Did you know that his favorite color is green? Or that is favorite food is banana pudding? Or that his birthday is April first? Or that he sleeps with a bottle of pepper spray under his pillow but always forgets that it's there? Or that he was with Chase two nights ago?"

"What?" Clay faced Wuya after the last statement.

"Oops, did I say that out loud?" Wuya put a hand to her chest and laughed a little. "It must have slipped."

"Jack was at his parents." Clay stated. "That's what he told me."

"And you really think that Jack would never lie?" Wuya scoffed.

"Why are you tellin' me this?"

"Simple. I want the Wu-bot. Plus, while I may not be the biggest fan of Jack Spicer and I know where this is going to lead him to, it's not fun seeing him pretending to be something that he's not." Wuya turned away and started walking. "If you don't believe me, ask Jack yourself. Use that Ring of Truth you have and ask him when the last time he saw Chase was. You might learn that Jack isn't as faithful as you believe him to be." .

"I'll use the Ring of Truth and I'll prove ya wrong." Clay stated. "Jack's good now, get over it."

"Jack's not good and he never will be. I'm just sad I won't be around to see the show." Wuya let out one more laugh and was gone before Clay could say anything else to her.

"There won't be a show." Clay stated. "And I hope I only end up making a fool of myself." Clay added the last part softer before leaving the pantry, heading straight for the Wu-room.


	16. Too Late

Clay didn't know why he was doing this. Why was he about to ask Jack about Chase? Why did he have the Ring of Truth? Why was he doing what Wuya said? But the way she spoke told him that she wasn't lying. For once the witch was telling the truth. Did Jack really...

The cowboy found himself storming into the living room, where Jack and Kimiko were looking through a magazine together, Omi was attempting some origami and Raimundo was casually watching TV. Jack opened his mouth to greet him but stopped when he saw the hurt on Clay's face.

"When was the last time you saw Chase Young?" The question made everyone stop. Raimundo turned off the TV, Omi lowered his paper, Kimiko put a hand over her mouth and Jack's eyes went wide.

"When he was at the temple, you were there, remember?" Jack tried to smile but had a hard time with the throat closing up with fear. Everyone watched as Clay went over to Jack, took his hand and pulled him up to his feet. Jack looked at his hand and saw that Clay had slipped the Ring of Truth onto his finger.

"C-Clay, wait, don't-"

"When was the last time you saw Chase Young?" Clay repeated. Raimundo and Omi shared a look of confusion while Kimiko curled up a little.

"Two nights ago." Jack said, trying his best to hold back the words and was forced to speak as the Wu's magic went through him. Jack saw Kimiko straighten up a little at his answer. "I'm sorry." He said to Kimiko.

"How many times have ya seen him since we all saw him at the temple?" Clay asked. Jack tried to pull his hand away before Clay finished speaking but the cowboy's grip was too strong.

"Seven times." Jack answered.

"When and where?" Jack was terrified of how serious Clay's voice was, he was no longer his soft cowboy.

"Once outside when we were looking for Wu-bot. Twice in my room; once before we went to the carnival and the other after we went out to that fancy restaurant. Another time at the mall when I was trying on some shirts..." Jack took in a shaky breath. "When we got the Webbing Brush. Before our big fight and again afterward."

"You never told me-"

"Why were ya seein' Chase!?" Clay's shout cut Kimiko off. Jack flinched away when Clay yelled and the others were shocked since Clay rarely raised his voice with them around.

"He came to me!" Jack protested. "Except for the last time." He added softer.

"So we have one fight and ya run off to Chase!?" Clay ended up squeezing Jack's hand.

"Yes." Jack could feel his eyes watering up, begging internally that Clay doesn't ask anymore.

"What were you and Chase doing when he was visitin' ya?"

"He...he..." Jack looked over at Kimiko and the young woman shook her head, not knowing what do to or say at the moment. "He tries to convince me to join him."

"Anythin' else?"

"He kisses me."

"Let's go...uh...spar Omi." Raimundo said to the youngest monk and got up.

"Why would Chase kiss you?" Omi asked.

"B-Because he wants me." Jack answered very softly but was loud enough to be heard.

"What does-"

"You don't want to know, let's just go." Raimundo tried to get Omi to leave, but Omi kept asking him questions, wanting to know what was happening. Kimiko was still too stunned to move or speak.

"Clay, take this stupid ring off of me and let's talk in private." Jack said.

"Why? So you can lie to me and the others more?" Clay's voice cracked a little.

"I didn't want you to know what Chase was doing, I knew you'd get upset."

"So ya told no one about it?"

"I told Kimiko about the first one and right before the carnival trip." Jack forcibly admitted.

"Nice to know you're willin' to tell her things, but not ya own boyfriend." Clay spat.

"I knew you'd react like this!" Jack snapped weakly. "I didn't want to hurt you so I kept it from you!"

"When you went to Chase's-"

"No, no please." Jack pleaded. "Don't."

"-what did you two do?" Jack took in several shallow breaths before speaking.

"We had sex." He said hoarsely. "Clay...Clay, please, let me explain." Jack yelped when he was shoved back onto the couch.

"Clay please calm down." Omi was about to say more but stopped when Raimundo held a and towards him and shook his head.

"You slept with him!?" Clay cried. "The man who abused ya and called ya a 'worm' and treated ya like shit!?" Jack was not ready for Clay to curse. "You had sex with him!?"

"Yes, but it was a mistake. I told him that and I came back." Jack got back up.

"And then we...am I just second with everythin' to him!?"

"No!" Jack grabbed Clay's arm. "Clay, I didn't mean-"

"Don't touch me!" Clay yanked his arm away. "I can't believe you! After everythin' that's happened, after everythin' that I and the others have done for ya, you run off to Chase when one little thin' goes wrong!"

"Clay..." Jack felt tears roll down his face and saw that Clay's were watering as well. "Chase knows what to say to get you to question everything you've ever thought."

"Do you love him?"

"Clay-"

"Do you love him!?"

"Yes!" Jack started sobbing. "I do and I don't want to, but I do."

"Do you love me?"

"No..." Jack tried to hold Clay again. "But I do like you. You're a great guy and-"

"Not great enough to prevent you from runnin' away and sleepin' with another man." Clay said and wiped his eyes. "She was right, you're not good and ya never will be."

"I'm trying!" Jack showed Clay his hand. "Look, I'm still wearing the ring, I want to be good, I want to stay here with you and the others. You're a great boyfriend, Kimiko's a great friend, Omi's like a little brother and I don't hate Raimundo. Please, please just forgive me and let's move on like it never happened."

"Why? So you can keep lyin' to us and yourself? So I have to watch every step I make to prevent ya from running off to Chase again?"

"I'm so sorry."

"What was I thinkin', actually believin' that someone could like me. That someone could truly care for me in a way my friend's can't? I thought we were going to be happy together, that we were all gonna live a happy life and work together to gather the Wu and fight evil. I thought I would actually be loved." Clay crossed his arms and shook his head. "I thought our first time was that for the both of us, that it meant somethin' to you but, instead, I ended up dealing with Chase's sloppy seconds."

"It did mean something."

"That you could do whatever ya want. That my emotions don't matter? That because I'm supposed to be this big ol' tough cowboy, I'm emotionally dead and I don't care 'bout what ya do to me and my friends?"

"Clay...I...I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. Please, let me make it up to you, I'll do anything."

"Get out." Clay said softly.

"What..."

"Get out!" Clay screamed. "Get out of here!"

Jack looked at the other monks. Omi seemed like he was going to do something, but when Raimundo turned around and walked away, Omi gave Jack a sad wave and followed. Kimiko got out of her seat and went over to Clay.

"Clay, I'm sure Jack won't-"

"He lied to ya too, he lied to all of us. What's stoppin' him from doin' it again?" Clay spat before leaving the room as well.

"Jack, we'll figure this out. Clay just needs time to calm down and we'll talk to him or something."

"No...no I've ruined everything. I always do."

"Jack-" Kimiko wanted to grab Jack as he ran past her but knew that she's already done enough meddling with this and let the young genius leave.

Jack was thankful that he was wearing his heli-pack as he flew away from the temple but he was not thankful of the bird who ran into one of his propellers and sent him falling to the ground. Jack just laid there, sore and sobbing harshly. He debated about staying there until he died and became one with the ground. At least he'd be useful for the dirt and the animals that would eat his carcass. There was no way he could screw that up as well but knowing his luck, he'd probably poison the earth and kill off the planet.

The young man felt someone lifting him up and didn't fight back, he didn't care what happened to him anymore, he just didn't want to do anything. He didn't want to move, or to speak or to even feel and he was upset that only the last one wasn't something he could control. Jack saw that there were arms wrapped around him, hugging him to someone's chest. It didn't take him long to realize who it was and he just accepted it. He continued crying and found himself curling up against the person holding him.

"It's okay. It'll all be okay."+


	17. Five Years Later

Clay double-checked the address on the slip of paper before entering the small cafe. He slipped off his hat as he went up to a counter, waiting for a worker or someone to take his order or take him to a table or something, he didn't know how cafes like this functioned, but he was sure that they wouldn't appreciate him walking around with an old, torn-up cowboy hat. Clay didn't have the heart to toss the hat or store it. The hat has too many memories attached to it and he and the hat have been through a lot together.

"May I help you?" A man asked, giving Clay a friendly smile.

"I'm supposed to meet someone here." Clay waved his slip of paper a little.

"Name?"

"Clay Bailey."

"Right this way." The worker started walking away. Clay looked around for a moment before following the man, he felt like every pair of eyes in the cafe were on him and everyone's whispers were about him, he did not belong in this type of place. He was thankful when the worker lead him to a small both hidden in the corner of the cafe. "I'll be back soon to take your order." The worker picked up a sheet of paper off of the table as Clay sat down and laid in front of him.

"Wait, how do I..." Clay let his sentence trail off when he saw that the worker was already long gone. "What am I doin' here?" Clay muttered under his breath and skimmed the small menu. "I don't even know what half of this stuff is."

"It's hard to read when you don't know French." Clay stiffened up at the voice, it was deeper than he was used to but that tone was impossible to forget.

"Jack?"

"The one and only." Jack said with a shrug and a light smile. "You've gotten built over the years." He added as he joined Clay at the table.

"You've grown as well." Clay commented.

"Nice to know you still have your accent."

"You can take the cowboy away from Texas, but you can't take the Texas out of the cowboy."

"Your hat's seen better days." Jack chuckled weakly.

"It's also seen worse." Clay ran a hand along the top of the hat. "So, what's with the note?" Clay sat the slip of paper on the table. "'Come to this address alone, Friday at noon and don't tell anyone'?"

"You didn't, right?" Jack leaned forward a little.

"No, I had a feelin' it was you but wasn't completely sure." Clay admitted.

"Sorry about all the secrecy but I didn't want the others to see me. Not after all that's happened."

"Then why see me?"

"I...I wanted to see how you were doing and apologize for what I did." Jack saw that the worker was coming back.

"That was years ago Jack, we were young, mistakes happen." Clay said. The cowboy waited as Jack quickly ordered, speaking in French as if it was his native language and sent the worker away.

"I was still old enough to know not to do that, what I did was the worst thing I have ever done." Jack said softly.

"Enough about the past, what happened to ya? Kimiko said you ran off and we haven't heard from you or even Chase since. We've seen Wuya like, twice, but that's it."

"When I ran away, Chase found me."

"Of course, he did." Clay muttered.

"He found me and took me to his lair and he took care of me." Jack continued, ignoring Clay's comment.

"Took care of ya?"

"He literally tied me down when I attempted...when I tried to take my life." There was a silence between the two.

"Jack, why would you ever think of doin' that?"

"Because I thought that I was pathetic, that I can only ruin every good thing that I or anyone who knows me have and I thought that if I was gone, everyone would be happy and never have to think about me again." Jack was playing with his hands that were on the table and he stopped when Clay put his on top of them.

"You're not pathetic and don't you ever think of somethin' like that again, hear me?"

"Don't worry, I'm long past that. But, other than that. It's just been me and Chase. We're happy together and he no longer cares to rule the world, he just didn't want to be alone anymore and that was the only thing giving him something to do besides dwell on his loneliness."

"Why does that sound like a lie?"

"Because it is." Jack sighed. "Look, I'm trying to get him to stop, believe it or not, I still want to be good and I've spent the past five years trying to convince him to do the same to some degree and whenever there's been a Wu, I've found some way to distract him. He's not that bad of a guy, he just kind of doesn't have a soul."

"I'm happy for you guys."

"Are you?"

"A little, I guess. I mean, one can only be so happy for the man that literally stole their first love away from 'em." Clay huffed. "But I've moved on from that."

"Have you found anyone?"

"Not really, been on a few dates here or there, but none of them caught my attention like you did."

"There's someone for everyone." Jack said with a small smile.

"And sometimes that someone is taken away for someone else." Clay sighed.

"I thought you said you've moved on?"

"I am, doesn't mean I can't still be pissy 'bout it." Jack and Clay both laughed a little. "Does Chase even know you're here?"

"Not at all. He thinks I'm visiting my parents."

"The others think I'm doin' the same." Clay admitted.

"How are they, by the way? Is Omi still really short? Did Kimiko ever find that weird Koren makeup brand? Did Raimundo finally grow into his head?"

"You're lucky that I'm not tellin' them 'bout this. But everyone's fine. They were upset that you were gone and it was hard to convince Omi to not go searching for you since we assumed the worse after not seein' ya for the first year."

"Yeah, Chase didn't want me to leave and still doesn't like the idea of me not being with him constantly."

"Controlling much?"

"More like, over-protective. He hates letting me out of his sight after the whole suicidal phase."

"I guess that make sense."

"I'm still so sorry for everything that I caused. I still can't believe I-"

"Enough, please." Clay put his hat back on, feeling exposed without it. "Ya know, Kimiko really misses ya. It would make her so happy if you visited the temple or meet up with her or something. I'm sure Omi and Raimundo would love to see you too."

"I can't. I can't do that to them. All of you thought that I was dead and to just suddenly appear for a day and then to disappear forever." Jack stood up. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done this." Jack took out his wallet and pulled a large wad of cash from it. "This should cover everything, if not more."

"Jack, wait."

"I hope everything works out for you and the others." Jack started leaving.

"Jack!" Clay scrambled to his feet and grabbed Jack's wrist.

"Trust me, everything's going to be fine. Goodbye." Jack took his hand back and walked away. Clay fought every urge in his body to go after the man and stop him, to make him stay to find a way to fix everything but he just plopped back down into his seat and rested his face in his hands.

"Did Jack leave?" The worker from before asked, returning to the table with two white mugs.

"Yeah." Clay answered.

"Guess you get two drinks then." The man chuckled and sat the mugs down.

"I don't even know what this is."

"You have to try it, it's my favorite here." Clay straightened up a little when the man sat down in the seat in front of him. "Here, you have to lightly stir it with your straw in order to get the flavoring to be even." The cowboy just stared as the man handed him a straw and then started stirring his own drink. "It's gonna get cold if you don't." The man sang before taking a sip. Clay blinked a few times before doing what the man said, licking his lips after taking a drink.

"Strawberry?" Clay said softly. Why would Jack order this kind of drink? He hated strawberries.

"There you go, cowboy. But you got some cream on your nose." The man took a napkin and cleaned Clay's face. "Um...my name's Jake. I get off in ten if you want to go catch a movie or something."

"I...uh..." Clay took in a deep breath. "Sure. Sounds fun."

Clay talked to the man some more, not seeing that Jack was watching him from the cafe window. He sighed before smiling a little, knowing that Clay would be happy with Jake, he's been doing quite a bit of research on the man. Jack looked over his shoulder when he felt a hand on his hip. Chase blew out a puff of air before leading Jack away from the cafe.

x~x~x

Kimiko sat in her room, scrolling through her phone and trying to think of something to do, she flinched a little when she received a sudden text. The number looked strange but she opened the message anyways. She let out a loud laugh at the photo she saw and stopped when she read the words under the picture.

 _Decided that Chase needed a makeover too. Figured that green would be best for him. I miss you Kimi._

Kimiko's heart leaped to her throat and she quickly dialed the number, muttering under her breath and begging that he picks up. She slumped when all she got was a 'this number no longer exists' voicemail and hung up. She saw that she got a new text from a separate number and quickly opened that one as well.

 _Sorry about that, can't have you calling. But if you're not busy Friday, I've heard some great things about Bad Moms and a carnival day with everyone sounds great._

Kimiko smiled brightly before running out of the room, calling for the other monks and showing them the picture that Jack sent her.

* * *

This story gave me more emotions than it should have. But I hope all of you enjoyed _Caught Between_

And now, for the next story, which ones do you think should be next:

A sillyish one with Chase and Jack working in a factory together  
A very serious one with Jack making a huge mistake and changing his and Chase's lives  
A multichaptered Chack smut with a plot


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